Marlins FanFest is taking place this weekend at loanDepot Park, giving members of the media access to players and staff. Right-hander Eury Pérez spoke today, giving an update on his situation, with Christina De Nicola of MLB.com among those to relay the particulars.
The young righty underwent Tommy John surgery in April of last year. Today, he said he has already thrown seven bullpens and described himself as 75%. As for a timeline, he says he’s targeting a return around the All-Star break in July. That roughly aligns with the normal timeline following such a surgery, as pitchers usually take 14-plus months to come back.
The Marlins don’t seem to have their sights set on competing in 2025. They went 62-100 last year and their offseason has been more focused on subtractions, at least when it comes to the major league roster. Their biggest signing has been adding utility player Eric Wagaman on a split deal. They traded Jesús Luzardo to the Phillies and Jake Burger to the Rangers, getting prospects back in both instances.
As such, Pérez and the club will have no real reason to rush the timeline. He is still quite young, not turning 22 until April, and is under club control through the 2029 season. Going at a measured pace and making sure he’s healthy for the long term is the sensible play. He was one of the top pitching prospects in baseball prior to his 2023 debut, when he tossed 91 1/3 innings with a 3.15 earned run average, 28.9% strikeout rate and 8.3% walk rate.
As of now, the Marlins project to have a rotation nucleus of Sandy Alcántara, Ryan Weathers, Edward Cabrera and Max Meyer. Options for the back end include Valente Bellozo, Xzavion Curry, Adam Mazur and Connor Gillispie. If all goes according to plan, Pérez will jump into that mix in July, just before the trade deadline. If the Marlins are out of contention as expected, then it’s possible that Alcántara, Weathers and Cabrera could be in trade rumors at that time.
Elsewhere on the Miami roster, manager Clayton McCullough provided an update on left-hander Andrew Nardi, per De Nicola and Isaac Azout of Fish on First. Nardi had “some stuff flare up in the offseason” and will be a bit behind schedule in spring training, though the team is still awaiting clarity on the severity of the situation.
It’s unclear exactly what “stuff” was impacted by this flare-up. Nardi was placed on the injured list in August of last year due to a left elbow muscle injury and finished the season there. It’s unclear if his current status is related to that IL stint.
If Nardi is healthy, he would likely be viewed as a trade chip this summer, again assuming the Marlins aren’t in contention. He can be controlled through 2028, but the Fish haven’t been shy about trading controllable players in recent years. That includes the aforementioned Luzardo and Burger, as well as guys like Luis Arráez, Jazz Chisholm Jr., A.J. Puk, Huascar Brazobán, Bryan De La Cruz, Trevor Rogers and Bryan Hoeing last year.
In 2023, Nardi posted a 2.67 ERA across 57 1/3 innings, pairing a 30.3% strikeout rate and 8.9% walk rate. In 49 2/3 innings in 2024, he actually increased his strikeout rate to 33.3% and lowered his walk rate to 8.6%. His ERA jumped to 5.07, but a lot of that was likely luck. His batting average on balls in play jumped from .288 to .325 from 2023 to 2024, while his strand rate dropped from 86.4% to 63.9%. Though his ERA almost doubled compared to the year prior, his 3.33 FIP last year was actually lower than his 3.60 FIP in 2023. His SIERA also dropped from 3.18 to 2.77.
Putting the last two years together, Nardi threw 107 innings with a 3.79 ERA, 32% strikeout rate and 8.7% walk rate. He won’t qualify for arbitration until after 2025 and would have three years of club control beyond that.