Miami Marlins pitcher Edward Cabrera (shoulder) removed before start of spring game

Miami Marlins right-handed pitcher Edward Cabrera was removed from his scheduled spring training start on Sunday against the St. Louis Cardinals due to right shoulder tightness before throwing his first pitch.

The Marlins say his removal from the game was precautionary.

Cabrera went through his warmup process with catcher Christian Bethancourt before the Marlins’ contingent of manager Skip Schumaker, pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. and athletic trainer Rick Lembo and everyone in the infield went to the mound to check on Cabrera. After a brief discussion, Cabrera left the mound with Lembo by his side.

“His body language showed that he was feeling something,” Bethancourt said. “Obviously he was trying to see if he could come through the outing, but that’s not the smart thing right now.”

The message Cabrera received from the group: “The risk just isn’t worth it.”

“It’s early March,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. “I’m not gonna risk him going out there. He was trying to stay out there, but it didn’t make any sense to me for him to push through a couple innings in spring training.”

Cabrera said he did “a lot of stretching” in the Marlins’ training room and that he was “already starting to feel better” when he spoke to reporters about two hours after being removed from the game.

“Hopefully I’ll be out there as soon as possible,” Cabrera said.

Cabrera, entering his third MLB season, already has a bit of an injury history. He missed about a month in the middle of the 2023 season with a right shoulder impingement and missed time in 2022 due to right elbow tendonitis.

Cabrera said his current shoulder tightness is not related to his injury from last season.

Depending on the severity of the injury, which at this point is not known, this could add yet another wrinkle to the Marlins’ rotation for the start of the season. In addition to ace Sandy Alcantara being out for the season while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, left-handed pitcher Braxton Garrett is slated to start the season on the injured list after shoulder soreness delayed his throwing progression.

Right now, the only players who appear to be locks for the rotation are left-handed pitcher Jesus Luzardo (already announced the Opening Day starter on March 28 against the Pittsburgh Pirates) and right-handed pitcher Eury Perez.

From there, left-handed pitcher A.J. Puk, who is transitioning from a high-leverage relief role to a starter, is theoretically next in line. Puk has not allowed a run through 8 1/3 innings through three starts.

Fellow lefties Ryan Weathers and Trevor Rogers are the other two frontrunners competing for rotation spots. Weathers on Sunday threw five shutout innings against the Houston Astros in West Palm Beach, giving up just three hits with no walks while striking out seven. Rogers, who pitched just 18 innings last season before being sidelined by injuries (first left biceps and then a right lat tear), threw two shutout innings in his first spring start on Tuesday.

The Marlins are also building up several of their relievers to go multiple innings, including George Soriano and Bryan Hoeing, who could be pulled into the rotation if the situation gets to that point.

“It’s being tested,” Schumaker said of the Marlins’ starting pitching depth. “We’ll see what happens.”