The Marlins announced a trio of roster moves, including the news that right-hander Christian Roa’s contract has been selected from Triple-A Jacksonville. To open up space on the 28-man and 40-man rosters, Miami placed right-hander Freddy Tarnok on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to September 3), and released right-hander Declan Cronin.
Roa will be making his Major League debut whenever he appears in his first Marlins game. A second-round pick for the Reds in the 2020 draft, Roa struggled with control problems in 2023-24 and his 2024 season was cut short by injury. This didn’t stop the Marlins from claiming him off waivers last November, and the righty has rebounded with a better showing in a full-time relief role in 2025.
Over 57 1/3 innings in Jacksonville, Roa has a 2.83 ERA and a 26.1% strikeout rate. The 12% walk rate is still on the high side and Roa has benefited from a tiny .221 BABIP, but the bottom-line efforts have been enough to earn Roa his first taste of Major League action.
Tarnok is dealing with a left ankle sprain, and the timing of the injury means that he could be shut down for the rest of the season unless there’s some quick progress in his recovery. With a whopping 17 players now on the injured list, the Marlins as a whole are to some extent just trying to get to the finish line of the season, though Kyle Stowers, Ryan Weathers, and Janson Junk are all expected to be activated from the IL within the next week.
A minor league signing for the Marlins last winter, Tarnok had his minors contract selected to the active roster in mid-June, and he has made five appearances for Miami while being frequently optioned back and forth from Triple-A. Within the small sample size of 7 1/3 innings, Tarnok has a 2.45 ERA and a big 35.7% strikeout rate, with a 14.3% walk rate. This marks Tarnok’s first big league action since 2023, and he has a career 3.97 ERA across 22 2/3 innings with the Marlins, Athletics, and Braves.
Cronin’s release comes as the right-hander has been on Jacksonville’s IL for about the last three weeks, due to an undisclosed injury. Cronin already missed the first two months of the season due to a hip problem, and with a 4.87 ERA over 20 1/3 Triple-A innings, Cronin didn’t seem to be 100 percent.
After tossing 11 innings with the White Sox in his 2023 debut season, Cronin became a regular in Miami’s bullpen last year. Cronin’s 4.35 ERA wasn’t too impressive, but that statistic was inflated by a .365 BABIP, as the righty didn’t receive much good fortune from his 57.6% grounder rate. His 23.2% strikeout rate and 8.2% walk rate were also solid, and Cronin was a workhorse in tossing 70 1/3 innings over 56 appearances.
These numbers were strong enough that it is a little surprising to see Cronin released entirely, even despite his tough 2025 season. It could be that the Marlins have a handshake deal in place to bring Cronin back, and today’s move was made just to open up a 40-man roster spot.