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The Marlins may be dealt a huge blow to their rotation, as starter Henderson Alvarez is undergoing an MRI for his pitching elbow, according to Clark Spencer of MLB.com. The righty was off to a slow start in 2015, going 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA over his first two starts. Even with the MRI on the pitching elbow, some are still more concerned about potential elbow problems for Alvarez, says Joe Frisaro of MLB.com.
NL East Standings 4/13/15
| TEAM | W | L |
| Atlanta Braves | 5 | 1 |
| New York Mets | 4 | 3 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 3 | 4 |
| Washington Nationals | 2 | 5 |
| Miami Marlins | 1 | 5 |
Other news from the NL East:
- The Braves are out to a fast start, opening the year 5-1 and in front in the division. Atlanta was hoping to get Mike Minor back to bolster their rotation, but those plans seem to be on hold for the moment. The left-hander felt some discomfort while throwing recently and was sent to the Braves medical staff to get it checked out. At the moment, the Braves don't feel that surgery is required but they will continue to monitor it closely. Minor, 22, went 6-12 with a 4.77 ERA in 145.1 innings pitched during the 2014 campaign.
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- Don't go overboard connecting Braves' success with small ball, says Talking Chop.
- What looked to be a strength for the Mets in 2015 might be turning into a nightmare. A bullpen filled with young, hard-throwing arms was supposed to carry the Mets, along with their starting pitching this season. That was dealt a huge blow over the weekend as closer Jenrry Mejia was suspended 80 games for using Stanozolol. This is the fourth suspension in the last 17 days for Stanozolol, including Twins starter Ervin Santana.
- After earning the closing job in 2014, Mejia was the youngest Met to reach 28 saves and was poised to lead the back end of the Mets bullpen without Bobby Parnell and Vic Black. Meanwhile, both will be starting rehab assignments soon.
- Phillies reliever Ken Giles is known topping 100 mph on the radar gun. On Wednesday, Phillies fans saw a bit of a velocity drop off for the flame-throwing righty, but according to Giles there isn't any concern. John Stolnis of The Good Phight points out some key things about Giles' outing.
- Miami Marlins' extension talks with Adeiny Hechavarria have stalled, presumably due to a large gap between the camps.
- The Nationals have activated Jayson Werth from the DL and optioned Matt den Dekker to AAA.