The Marlins didn’t share many details about right-hander Max Meyer‘s neck strain when he hit the injured list on Monday. The team has now provided an update on his timetable before a series against the Padres. Meyer won’t throw for two weeks, per Christina De Nicola of MLB.com. It’s a concerning development for a Miami squad rapidly slipping out of the NL Wild Card race.
Meyer labored through three innings in his first start out of the All-Star break. The Brewers got to him for two earned runs on three hits and three walks. The righty piled up 74 pitches in three frames, so his early removal didn’t raise any red flags. The injury wasn’t revealed until the IL placement this week. The Marlins skipped Meyer’s final start before the break to give him some extra rest. He apparently felt neck discomfort in his previous outing, which came on July 7.
It’s unclear if Meyer will need a rehab assignment before returning to the big-league club. He’ll require a decent ramp-up after the two-week shutdown. The injury might cost him most of August considering those factors. Meyer is just shy of a career-high in innings as a professional. He reached 115 innings between Triple-A and the majors in 2024. He’s at 111 frames so far this year.
The 27-year-old Meyer has dealt with several injuries since being taken with the third overall pick in 2020. He missed all of 2023 while recovering from Tommy John surgery. A hip injury ended his 2025 campaign in early June. Meyer came into this year having made 25 starts across parts of three big-league seasons. He’s already made 20 in 2026.
After showing occasional flashes of promise in his previous stints with the Marlins, Meyer has put it all together this season. He’s posted a crisp 2.68 ERA with a career-best 26.2% strikeout rate. Meyer has certainly been fortunate with a .262 batting average on balls in play, but even pitching to his 3.85 xERA or his 3.80 SIERA would be a step forward from his previous work.
Meyer has leaned on two tremendous breaking balls to spur his breakout. He’s throwing his sweeper and slider a combined 56% of the time. Both pitches have a whiff rate above 35% and a sub-.200 opponent batting average. Meyer ranks in the 99th percentile for breaking ball Run Value. He’s got the 5th-best sweeper and the 12th-best slider among qualified pitchers by Run Value. The stellar breaking balls have helped hide a fastball that’s ceded a .494 SLG and a 92.5 average exit velocity.
The Marlins were short on pitching depth before Meyer went down. His injury leaves them with Sandy Alcantara, Eury Perez, Janson Junk, and then bullpen games headlined by Tyler Phillips and Ryan Gusto. The club elected not to call up Braxton Garrett to take Meyer’s spot in the rotation. Instead, he made a start at Triple-A yesterday, where he was hammered for seven earned runs over 2 2/3 innings. The only other option on the 40-man is Bradley Blalock, who has a 6.14 ERA with Jacksonville. Even top prospect Karson Milbrandt has struggled recently, with a ghastly 14.09 ERA and a 2.87 WHIP in three July appearances.
Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images
