Marlins rumors: Carter Capps undergoes MRI; Marlins seeking a new reliever?

One of the worst parts of spring training is seeing the number of injuries that pile up before the start of the season. Last year, Marcus Stroman tore his ACL, and Hunter Pence was hit by a pitch, which broke his forearm. Unfortunately it's one of the inevitabilities of sports, and this year will be no different. While there haven't been any seriously detrimental injuries thus far, the Marlins could be headed for one.

"According to two sources, hard-throwing reliever Carter Capps -- a contender for the closer's role -- underwent [an] MRI after complaining of soreness in his right elbow.

Capps, who didn't pitch the final two months of last season after going on the disabled list with a right elbow sprain, is expected to seek a second opinion."

Perhaps the most worrying aspect of this report from Clark Spencer, is the fact that Capps is already set for a second opinion. If he simply had inflammation, or something easily fixable, a second opinion wouldn't be necessary. Spencer also noted that "one source said the Marlins are looking around the league for potential relief help through a trade."

With Miami already on the hunt for a potential replacement, and Capps' impending second opinion, it's hard to see a favorable outcome for the Marlins in this situation.

Losing Capps would be a huge blow to Miami's bullpen, as he posted fantastic numbers while healthy. In 31 innings, he had a K/9 of 16.84, a BB/9 of 2.03, a HR/9 of 0.58, along with an ERA and FIP of 1.16, and 1.10, respectively. He managed to produce an fWAR of 1.3 in that short time, which is just 0.2 points below Craig Kimbrel's 2015 value, in which he threw 28.1 more innings than Capps.

While Spencer mentioned that the Marlins could be in the trade market now, there are still a few relievers on the open that they could turn to. Franklin Morales had a solid 2015 campaign, as did Matt Thornton. While Miami wouldn't have to give up a top prospect for a middle-reliever, if they're going to take on more salary, it might make more sense to simply go about that through free agency.

As of now, the prognosis on Capps is still unknown, but once more information is available, this story will be updated.