Brian

Navarreto

Zuber recently underwent internal brace surgery that could keep him out for all of next year. Navarreto spent the final three-plus months of the season on the roster as a backup to Joe Mack, but he didn’t play much, hitting .135/.193/.250 in 61 plate appearances.

Mack takes a seat for the third consecutive contest due to lingering right shoulder soreness. His prolonged absence doesn’t come as a surprised based on comments from Marlins skipper Clayton McCullough earlier this week that he would need a couple days off to address the issue. It’ll be Brian Navarreto continuing to handle the catching duties with Agustin Ramírez at DH.

Marlins manager Clayton McCullough indicated that Mack is probably going to need a couple days off to rest and recover. It doesn’t sound like there’s a high level of concern that he’ll require a trip to the injured list. It’ll be Brian Navaretto handling the catching duties for the second straight game with Agustin Ramírez at DH. The 23-year-old defensive specialist has hit .240 with 12 homers in 243 plate appearances since arriving in the big leagues back in early May.

The hot-hitting outfielder will get at least a partial day off with left-hander Gage Jump toeing the slab for the Athletics. Don’t be surprised to see him make an appearance off the bench though. Liam Hicks will cover first base for the Marlins while Brian Navarreto draws a rare start behind the dish and will bat ninth for the Marlins.

Navarreto fortifies Miami’s catching situation behind rookie starter Joe Mack with Liam Hicks requiring a trip to the injured list with a back strain. The 31-year-old got into eight contests for the Marlins last year. He can be safely ignored in all fantasy formats.

Snelling’s path to a spot in Miami’s season-opening rotation spot evaporated following the addition of Chris Paddack earlier this spring but he still looked sharp in a handful of Grapefruit League outings. It’ll come down to either Braxton Garrett or Janson Junk for the final spot in the rotation. The 22-year-old southpaw is one of the top pitching prospects in baseball and should be fantasy relevant once he arrives in the big leagues given his strikeout upside and pitcher-friendly home ballpark. He’s a name to keep on early-season watch lists, especially in deeper mixed leagues.

Navaretto, 30, has played in 10 big-league games: two with the Marlins in 2020 and eight with the Marlins last season, though he spent most of the intervening years in the Milwaukee farm system. He might have a chance of making the team out of spring training if the Marlins want to carry three catchers with Agustin Ramírez and Liam Hicks both likely to do some DHing. However, if that is the plan, the Marlins probably could do a little better.

All players will have the ability to enter free agency, if they so choose. Bellozo has been an up-and-down option for Miami over the past couple of years, and likely will have interest on the market as a depth piece if he doesn’t stay with Miami.

The Marlins have decided to add a third catcher as their extra position player. Navaretto’s only previous major league experience was going 2-for-5 for the Marlins in 2020. He spent 2022-24 in the Brewers system before rejoining the Marlins and batting .229/.301/.392 in 47 Triple-A games this season.

The only big league experience that the 30-year-old backstop has came with the Marlins during the truncated 2020 season in which he went 2-for-5 in the two games that he appeared in. He’ll add depth behind the plate during Grapefruit League action.