USA TODAY Sports

The Miami Marlins , already without star pitcher Sandy Alcantara for the season with an elbow injury, are now holding their breath on young flamethrower Edward Cabrera, who is having an MRI done on his ailing shoulder.

Per Christina De Nicola on social media:

Righty Edward Cabrera will undergo an MRI per manager Skip Schumaker. FWIW Cabrera’s strengths tests, etc. came back fine. #Marlins

It's good that his strength tests came back good, but it will still be some nervous moments for the team as they await results.

Without Alcantara, the team will be leaning heavily on Cabrera, as well as fellow youngsters Jesus Luzardo and Eury Perez. Miami made the playoffs last season as a wild card team but were eliminated by the Philadelphia Phillies in the wild card round.

The team is also dealing with some injury concerns regarding left-hander Braxton Garrett.

Cabrera is coming off a season in which he went 7-7 with a 4.24 ERA over 20 starts. He struck out 118 batters in 99.2 innings and has the kind of swing-and-miss stuff that teams salivate over.

He made his major league debut in 2021 and is 13-14 lifetime with a 4.01 ERA.

Miami will open up the season on March 28 against the Pittsburgh Pirates and will have an uphill climb to make the playoffs again in a loaded National League that includes the Phillies, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, and the reigning NL champion Arizona Diamondbacks. The San Francisco Giants have also beefed up their roster this offseason by bringing in several veterans.

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