Weathers wild as Marlins weigh how to fill hole in rotation

SAN DIEGO -- Marlins manager Skip Schumaker recently said he doesn’t scoreboard watch until September.

But following a 6-2 loss to the Padres at Petco Park on Monday night, the Marlins (64-62) have dropped three in a row and five of six to fall 1 1/2 games behind the Giants (65-60) for the third and final National League Wild Card spot. Arizona (65-61) and Cincinnati (64-61) also are ahead of Miami in the standings.

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“We're at the point of the season that every game, pitch, inning is meaningful,” Schumaker said. “Not that it wasn't before, but we're at the stage that we can't give free passes and expect to win games. So we've got to be competitive in the strike zone. . … Giving free passes against a good lineup like that it's going to come back to hurt you, and it did.”

Veteran right-hander Johnny Cueto was slated to start the series opener, but he didn’t recover in time from a viral infection to take the mound. Recently acquired left-hander Ryan Weathers flew into San Diego ahead of Hurricane Hilary and remained on standby in case Cueto couldn’t go. It just so happens his first start and second appearance with the Marlins would come against his former ballclub.

The 23-year-old Weathers allowed five runs and issued five passes over 3 1/3 innings. San Diego broke the game open in the second inning when Weathers – facing the bottom of the order – walked the bases loaded before surrendering a grand slam to Ha-Seong Kim.

“I think just a lot of nerves, a lot of it still being fresh that it's been 20 days, three weeks since I've been traded,” said Weathers, who posted a 5.73 ERA in 43 games for the Padres from 2021-23. “There were just a lot of emotions today, and it was just a weird outing. I would have loved to have been more aggressive. [I] thought my misses were small. I even felt like the grand slam, if I don't walk three people, it's a solo shot instead of four runs.”

In acquiring Weathers ahead of the Trade Deadline in a deal that sent Garrett Cooper and pitching prospect Sean Reynolds to San Diego, the Marlins hoped it would be another reclamation project, a la Jesús Luzardo.

When the Marlins received Luzardo for a rental piece in Starling Marte, he had a 4.79 career ERA in 31 games (15 starts). Until his 2023 second-half struggles (7.39 ERA), Luzardo had a 3.31 ERA in 37 starts since the beginning of the '22 season.

Like Luzardo, Weathers possesses elite stuff (96.1 mph average four-seam velocity) from the left side. But he has yet to live up to the billing as the seventh overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft.

“He's got a great arm,” general manager Kim Ng said during a recent Bally Sports Florida broadcast. “Skip actually has some familiarity with him from San Diego. We've had our eye on him for a long time, have tried to get him in the past. …

“As long as these guys are open when they get here, willing to listen, and you have some coachability, they can only pick things up and, hopefully, improve and get better.”

With each game meaning so much during the stretch run, where do the Marlins turn with Cueto sidelined until at least Sept. 2?

Schumaker said there wasn’t an exact plan yet. The club would rewatch Weathers’ start before making a decision moving forward. Rookie right-hander George Soriano seems to be transitioning into a more high-leverage role in the bullpen. Righty Bryan Hoeing, who took over for Weathers and gave up one run over 4 2/3 innings, is an option. But his splits are drastic: a 1.95 ERA in 19 relief appearances vs. a 6.66 ERA in six starts.

Then there’s right-hander Edward Cabrera, who was optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville on Aug. 1 because his 6.08 walks-per-nine rate was the second-highest among Major League pitchers with at least 10 starts. In his first two outings with the Jumbo Shrimp, Cabrera had only three walks in 12 innings, with 13 strikeouts. In his most recent start, he struck out two and walked five in 5 2/3 frames.

“We're looking for someone to step up,” Schumaker said. “We need someone to keep us in the game and give us five, six strong innings and give it to a really good bullpen to pass it on. Again, [Weather’s] got good stuff. He was throwing 96-97 [mph], a decent changeup tonight, the slider at times was great. Just not in the zone, not on the attack, and he's usually on the attack. Honestly, he's not a guy that walks a ton of guys, and for it to happen tonight is just unfortunate.”