The Marlins have placed utilityman Jon Berti on their injured list, and selected the contract of infielder Joe Dunand from Triple-A Jacksonville. No specifics were given about Berti’s IL placement, and as with Brian Anderson’s placement to Miami’s IL Friday, it would seem like Berti’s absence is related to COVID-19.
Berti is off to a fantastic start, hitting .300/.440/.550 over his first 50 plate appearances. While Berti was roughly a league-average hitter in 2019-20, he is better known for his versatility — already this season, Berti has seen time at shortstop, left field, second base and third base, in addition to pinch-hitting and pinch-running work. This multi-positional skillset has made Berti a very useful bench piece over his four seasons in Miami, and allowed the Marlins at times to keep a shortened bench and add an extra arm to the bullpen.
Dunand can bring at least some of that versatility, with lots of experience as a third baseman, shortstop and a handful of games at first base over his five minor league seasons. For Saturday's game against the Padres, Dunand is in the starting lineup at third base, set for his MLB debut.
A second-round pick for the Marlins in the 2017 draft, Dunand hasn’t hit much in the minors, and isn’t listed as one of Miami’s top-30 prospects by either Baseball America or MLB Pipeline. A lack of offense has limited Dunand’s potential, but the 26-year-old Miami native, who is the nephew of Alex Rodriguez, has hit better at Triple-A this year, batting .255/.368/.426 over 57 PA.
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