MIAMI — Marlins pitcher Max Meyer is in a no-throw status for at least two weeks after visiting Dr. Robert Watkins IV in Los Angeles for further evaluation of a neck strain that landed the 27-year-old on the 15-day injured list, the team announced.
The diagnosis marks the fifth straight year Meyer has missed time due to injury — a stretch that includes Tommy John surgery, a hip labral repair and shoulder bursitis. Manager Clayton McCullough said imaging in Los Angeles offered some reassurance.
“At least with the further testing he got done, nothing new showed up,” McCullough said. “Having to deal with this neck strain a little bit, I think he’ll be able to keep his arm moving some, but it’ll be on a limited basis. And then some of this is going to take a little bit of time to hopefully get it knocked out. In a couple weeks, we’ll just kind of see how he’s responded to everything, and at that point, how quickly a potential ramp-up and what that looks like.”
Meyer first felt the issue during his July 7 start against the Mariners in Seattle. The Marlins skipped his scheduled July 12 start before the All-Star break, and he did not pitch in the Midsummer Classic. McCullough said Meyer felt improved after the extra rest and cleared his throwing and bullpen sessions before returning to the mound.
“He felt a little sensation in the neck area in that outing [versus Seattle],” McCullough said. “Then, in the third inning of the game the other day in Milwaukee, he said he felt a similar sensation there, so we felt like it was worth going to get some further examination on that.”
Meyer appeared off in his start against the Brewers in Milwaukee, allowing two runs in a season-low three innings while walking three. He had taken the mound after a career-long 10 days between starts. Until that outing, Meyer had never gone longer than six days without pitching in a big league game, and the extended rest has not suited him — he posted a 4.91 ERA in eight starts on six days of rest compared to 3.04 on the regular four days’ rest and 4.61 with five.
“I grinded through every single inning it felt like, put the ‘pen in a tough spot, especially coming off a break like this,” Meyer said after the Milwaukee start. “Obviously, I wanted to go deeper. Pen’s got to pick up a lot of slack if I’m only going three innings and there’s a one-run game. So, it was tough. Obviously, not my best one. Clean up the walks and then get back on it.”
Meyer had already surpassed his single-season career highs for innings and starts at the Major League level before the setback. His injury history includes a right UCL tear during his second Major League start in 2022 that required Tommy John surgery, costing him all of 2023. In 2025, he underwent season-ending left hip labral repair surgery. He was sidelined with right shoulder bursitis in September 2024.
McCullough declined to name a direct replacement in the rotation. “I think we’ll just continue to look at when that spot comes open and what’s the availability of the group and what we think going into that particular game gives us the best chance to win the game,” he said. Meyer’s two-week evaluation window will determine whether a ramp-up toward a return is possible or whether a longer absence awaits.