Yonny Chirinos will start for the Marlins on Wednesday against the Cardinals, the team announced (X link via Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase). Isaac Azout of Fish on First noted (on X) this afternoon that Chirinos was in the clubhouse.
Miami will need to select Chirinos onto the 40-man roster tomorrow morning. Their roster is at capacity, so they’ll need to make a corresponding move. Miami will also need to option (or DFA) a pitcher to create a spot on the active roster.
Chirinos, 30, gets to the majors for a sixth season. He signed with the Fish on a minor league deal over the winter. Chirinos has taken the ball 12 times for Triple-A Jacksonville, allowing an even three earned runs per nine across 66 innings. The Venezuelan-born righty has a modest 17.2% strikeout rate against a decent 8.4% walk percentage.
Command has always been Chirinos’ biggest strong suit. He has a tidy 6.3% walk rate in 326 1/3 MLB frames between the Rays and Braves. He hasn’t missed many bats but managed a sub-4.00 ERA with Tampa Bay between 2018-20. Chirinos underwent Tommy John surgery late in the 2020 campaign and fractured his elbow while rehabbing from that procedure. He struggled in his return a year ago, allowing a 5.40 ERA over 85 frames.
Chirinos has more than five years of major league service. The Marlins won’t be able to send him back to Jacksonville without his agreement now that he’s back in the big leagues. He’d qualify for free agency at the end of the season if he pitches well enough to hold his MLB spot for the rest of the year.