Marlins designate Rivera for assignment

NEW YORK -- The Marlins designated infielder Yadiel Rivera for assignment and selected the contract of right-hander Hector Noesí, who on Tuesday played in his first Major League game since 2015, when he was a member of the White Sox.

Noesi was productive for Triple-A New Orleans this season, going 11-4 with a 3.82 ERA and 133 strikeouts in 125 innings.

“He is an experience guy. We saw him during Spring Training. He knows what he is doing,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “He can pitch the ball on both sides of the plate. He has been pitching well. We needed a starter [on Tuesday] and he’s the guy.”

Rivera was not productive coming off the bench, going 11-for-60 (.183) with three RBIs. He became expendable because the Marlins were getting more production from Jon Berti.

“Yadi was a guy who wasn’t playing for us,” Mattingly said. “He is a guy we knew could defend, but we are also sitting here with [Miguel Rojas] and other guys we want to look at. We needed a roster spot and Yadi had the one spot we were willing to give up.”

The Nicknames are back
Players’ Weekend is back for the third year in a row, giving big leaguers like members of the Marlins an opportunity to connect with the fans in fun and engaging ways through their jerseys and equipment. Marlins players will display their nicknames on the back of their jerseys during the weekend of Aug. 23-25.

The nickname that stands out belongs to outfielder Garrett Cooper, who insists that his moniker "Coopaloop" did not come from former Los Angeles Lakers great Michael Cooper.

“A lot of my friends gave me that name. I did not get that name from a specific member of the Lakers,” Cooper said. “I’m a big Lakers fan. I heard of Michael Cooper, but my brothers were called Coopaloop when they were coming up. It’s a name that stuck with us. I’m the youngest of seven. Even back home, my buddies call me Coopaloop.”