The Miami Marlins had an excellent back-end of the bullpen for parts of last season. A.J. Ramos was a great closer, and Carter Capps was the best relief pitcher in baseball for 31 innings, posting a ridiculous 16.84 K/9 with only 2.03 BB/9. Because of his excellence, the Marlins were going to give Capps a chance to win the closer role this Spring. He reported to Spring Training, however, and immediately felt discomfort in his throwing elbow. He underwent an MRI and is now waiting for a second opinion from the dreaded Dr. James Andrews. If Capps needs Tommy John Surgery, he will be out for all of 2016 and likely part of 2017 as well. If doctors prescribe rest instead of surgery, he will still likely be out for a decent part of the 2016 season. Either way, it seemed like Ramos would be able to keep his closer role.

That is, until Ramos popped up on injury reports as well. He has not yet pitched in a Grapefruit League game and is reportedly dealing with a calf issue. He says his arm is fine, however, and that he will be ready to go as soon as his calf allows him to. For now, it seems like a minor issue, but there is always cause for concern, at the very least due to the fact that he will be behind on any throwing program he might need to be ready for the season.

While Capps likely won’t be on a mound for a while, the Fish and their fans hope to see Ramos back on the hill soon. He threw a simulated inning on Sunday and will hopefully climb back onto the mound soon. Without the two righties, the Marlins would likely have to turn to roller coaster ride lefty Mike Dunn in the ninth inning with inexperienced righties Kyle Barraclough and Brian Ellington mixing in with Bryan Morris as setup men.