Marlins reliever Jesús Tinoco will undergo flexor surgery next month, reports Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase. It’ll cost him most or all of the 2026 season. Tinoco is already on Miami’s 60-day injured list and will remain there until the beginning of the offseason.
The Fish claimed Tinoco off waivers from the Cubs last July. The journeyman righty impressed down the stretch, turning in 26 2/3 innings of 2.03 ERA ball behind a 30.6% strikeout rate. It was the best two-month stretch of his career and secured his spot on the roster last offseason.
Tinoco opened the season on the shelf with a minor back injury. He returned in mid-April and struggled over the next six weeks. His velocity was down nearly two ticks relative to the end of last season, and he allowed more than five earned runs per nine with a massively reduced 12.5% strikeout rate. A forearm strain sent him back to the IL in early June. He evidently had a setback in recent weeks and will be unable to avoid surgery.
The 30-year-old will collect the $760K minimum salary for the season. He surpassed the two-year service threshold, but that’s not of huge significance as he faces the extended rehab process. Miami will almost certainly run him through outright waivers at year’s end rather than putting him back on the 40-man roster. The injured list goes away over the offseason, and Tinoco would’ve been a fringe roster player even if healthy. He’ll become a minor league free agent and could look for a two-year minor league contract. He owns a 3.98 ERA in 100 career big league appearances.