Mattingly: Fernandez may be shut down if Marlins are eliminated

If the scuffling Miami Marlins are eliminated from postseason contention over the next few weeks, Jose Fernandez - whose innings have been carefully managed in his first full season back from Tommy John surgery - could be shut down, manager Don Mattingly said.

"Absolutely," Mattingly told MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. "We'll look at that as it goes. Obviously, we've been paying attention to his innings all along."

Though the 24-year-old expressed displeasure in spring training about the possibility of getting shut down, even telling reporters "it's not going to happen," reports indicated the Marlins wanted to keep him around 180 innings for the year. Heading into Friday's scheduled start against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Fernandez has logged 160 1/3 innings - 12 1/3 innings shy of the career-high he established as a rookie in 2013.

Last month, in an effort to keep his workload in check (and, in anticipation of a potential postseason berth), the Marlins skipped one of Fernandez's starts, giving him a nine-day break following an Aug. 8 six-inning, one-run effort against the San Francisco Giants. Since then, Fernandez has posted a 4.37 ERA in four starts, and though he didn't allow a run in two of those outings, the two-time All-Star endured his worst performance of 2016 his last time out, allowing seven runs (six earned) on a season-high 12 hits and two walks over 5 2/3 innings in Saturday's 8-3 loss to the Cleveland Indians.

His velocity was down a bit Saturday at Progressive Field - his four-seamer averaged 96.16 mph, his lowest mark since that August outing against the Giants - but Fernandez didn't point to fatigue or make any excuses for his shaky performance.

"They're a really good team," Fernandez said. "I was trying to battle. I don't even know. I was thinking about rolling the ball to the plate and seeing maybe who they were going to hit it to. I was trying to make a pitch, and they would hit it. Try to make another pitch, and they hit it. I got hit. I got hit hard. I got hit really hard, but you learn from it."

Fernandez, the 2013 National League Rookie of the Year, had been building a strong case for his first career Cy Young award this season, but with a shutdown looking increasingly probable with Miami five games back of a wild-card berth, he may have to wait. Through 26 starts, Fernandez owns a 3.03 ERA (131 ERA+) with a 1.17 WHIP and boasts an MLB-best 34.2 percent strikeout rate.