The Marlins are giving Max Meyer a breather at the exact moment his breakout season has him front and center. Miami will skip Meyer’s final first-half start and keep him out of the Midsummer Classic, choosing rest over one more turn before the break.
Manager Clayton McCullough said the decision was made with the big picture in mind, especially after the workload Meyer has already carried.
“Our reasoning there -- we're all certainly very aware of where Max is at this point -- and with the starts and the innings that he's already thrown, and us, certainly going to need to lean on him in the second half of this season,” McCullough said. “So, [we] felt it came at a nice time for us, where again, we could use the four days after his last start, get some time as well with the All-Star break.
“He can go enjoy all the festivities in Philadelphia and be a fan in the dugout, and then just to give him a little bit of a breather here, as we continue to push him through his first real full season in the big leagues.”
That workload matters because Meyer has never been asked to do this much at the big league level. Since his 2022 debut, he had not gone beyond 64 2/3 innings or 12 starts in a season, with injuries repeatedly interrupting his progress. This year, though, he has been one of Miami’s most reliable arms.
Through 19 starts, Meyer is 9-1 with a 2.58 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP across 108 innings. He sits 10th among National League qualifying pitchers in fWAR at 2.3, is tied for fourth in average against at .206, and is tied for seventh in innings. Before the Rockies beat him on July 1 at Coors Field, he had been the Majors’ last remaining unbeaten qualifying starting pitcher.
Meyer’s most recent outing came Tuesday, when he allowed two runs over five innings and threw 80 pitches against the Mariners.
McCullough said the club approached the situation with a season-long view rather than a rigid plan.
“The whole time we're always going to this year kind of read and react as things were going, and I just felt like the timing was right now to give him a bit of a blow,” McCullough said. “Again, just missing the one start on Sunday, but the fact that we could build in the four extra days with the All-Star break, that this would be the most optimal way to give him a little bit of a reset and a breather.”
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