What Marlins want to see as Jazz Chisholm Jr., Jorge Alfaro start rehab assignments

Three of the Miami Marlins’ key injured players on Tuesday took the next step toward their return to the active roster.

Catcher Jorge Alfaro and middle infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr., both of whom have been sidelined by hamstring strains, began a rehab assignment with the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, the Marlins’ Triple A affiliate.

Meanwhile, right-handed pitcher Elieser Hernandez threw a bullpen session Tuesday at Chase Field before the Marlins’ game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He is scheduled to throw a two-inning live batting practice on Thursday.

Marlins manager Don Mattingly on Tuesday didn’t put a timetable on when Chisholm or Alfaro will return to the active roster, although general manager Kim Ng mentioned Friday on a Bally Sports Florida broadcast that it could be as early as this weekend.

“They’ve really just got to show they’re healthy,” Mattingly said. “That’s the main thing. We know what they can do. We know they’re part of the club.”

To Mattingly, that means Alfaro showing he’s capable of catching back-to-back games and Chisholm showing he’s “gonna hold up after playing a couple days.”

“We really think those guys are really going to be ready about the same time,” Mattingly said. “Obviously Jazz hasn’t been on [the injured list] as long, but we still feel like the timeframe is going to be pretty close together as long as neither one of those guys has any kind of setback.”

Meanwhile on the pitching front, Hernandez could potentially start rehab assignments in the near future as well if he comes out of his live batting practice session on Thursday with no issues. Hernandez made just one start this season, throwing 2 1/3 innings against the Tampa Bay Rays on April 3 before leaving the game with a right biceps injury.

Mattingly said the club wants Hernandez comfortably throwing 75 pitches — which generally works out to about five innings of work — before adding him back to the active roster and to the starting rotation.

That means he’ll most likely need at least two rehab starts to get built up, which means Hernandez will realistically be sidelined for at least another two weeks.

“Starting pitchers are in a whole different boat,” Mattingly said. “Pitching has got to be built up to a certain point where he’s gonna be able to go out there and compete.”