The Marlins announced that catcher Francisco Cervelli will be placed on the seven-day list of injured protesters. A corresponding move is made prior to tomorrow’s game. Cervelli started last night for Miami in the second game of her doubleheader with the Nationals, although Cervelli was replaced by Jorge Alfaro prior to the start of the third inning.
While no concussion news is good, last night’s news is especially difficult because of Cervelli’s long history with such injuries. This is at least the seventh concussion Cervelli has suffered in his career, and it was less than 14 months ago that Cervelli seemed intimate that he was done with the capture, although he made this statement earlier a few days later. Even if Cervelli’s symptoms (hopefully) subside rapidly this time, one would suggest that the Marlins can keep him out of action for longer than the minimum of seven days, just to make sure Cervelli is ready, seeing all the past concussions on his plate .
Cervelli used a one-year $ 2MM deal with Miami last offseason to provide some more catcher experience, and since Alfaro was activated by the IL only on Friday, Cervelli has been a major player both behind the plate and on the plate. Starting Saturday, Cervelli had a .250 / .361 / .462 slashline and three home games over 61 record appearances.
Should Cervelli miss a long time, the Marlins will not have a ton of depth behind Alfardo. Chad Wallach is also on the IL, while four other catchers in the Miami players pool (Will Banfield, Santiago Chavez, Julian Leon, en Brian Navarreto) have no Major League experience.
