Xavier Edwards gets the chance to play his natural position of shortstop with Marlins

With Tim Anderson on the bereavement list and away from the Marlins, Xavier Edwards is getting a shot to start at shortstop in this weekend’s games against the Guardians.

It’s a chance Edwards “deserves,” too, manager Skip Schumaker said. “He’s earned the right to start up here at the big-league level.”

After going 0 for 3 with a walk Friday, Edwards was 1 for 3 (one of four Marlins hits) with a walk Saturday in an 8-0 loss at loanDepot park. The Guardians scored six runs in the fifth inning as the Marlins lost for the fifth time in six games.

Edwards’ recall from Triple A Jacksonville for the start of this series was the culmination of a long road back from an infected left foot in March. The infection forced Edwards to sit around for weeks before he could start any physical activity. Schumaker said he suspects there were “some dark days” for the 24-year-old.

“I felt really bad for him. I think everybody felt really bad for him,” Schumaker said, adding jokingly, “[Edwards] couldn’t play ping-pong. That’s his passion. I think he was more upset about ping-pong than [missing] some of those spring training games.”

Before could begin to lift weights, run and resume baseball activities, Edwards said, he spent most of his time reading and focusing on another aspect of the game.

“I’m pretty big on the mental side. I care a lot about it,” Edwards said. “I think if my head’s in the right place, then there’s nothing I can’t accomplish.”

After completing a rehab assignment last month, Edwards saw action in 13 games for Jacksonville, hitting .365 with an OPS of .892 and OBP of .411, and playing shortstop.

It’s the position he played at North Broward Prep in Coconut Creek, was drafted for and practices at in the offseason “because it helps me keep my feet moving.”

Still, Edwards, who saw action at second base in 24 of the 30 games he played for the Marlins last season, hadn’t played shortstop in the majors before Friday’s game.

He looked like a natural there in the sixth inning, diving to make a backhanded stop of Josh Naylor’s sharp grounder, and then firing to first base just in time.

When Anderson returns, Edwards likely will be sent back to Jacksonville.

For now, “I’m just glad to be back here.”

“The kid went through a lot,” Schumaker said. “But to his credit, he worked really hard to get back and he has shown what he can do when he’s healthy.”

Weathers placed on IL

Ryan Weathers was placed on the 15-day injured list with a left index finger strain after leaving Friday’s start in the third inning. Weathers said he had felt nagging soreness in the finger, but he felt unusual pain after throwing his first breaking ball.

“It kind of grabbed in a weird way,” Weathers said. “It happened again in the second [inning], and by the third inning, I couldn’t really grip the baseball that well. … I felt like my finger was throbbing for two and a half innings.”

Weathers is the Marlins’ eighth starting pitcher to be on the IL at some point this season.

“As long as it’s not a surgery deal, I feel pretty good about it,” Schumaker said. “You never want to see one of your best pitchers go on the IL, though, so that makes it tough, especially with what he’s done. But I feel like he’s going to be back sooner than later.”

Muñoz makes start

Roddery Muñoz was recalled from Triple A Jacksonville on Saturday and started on the mound for the Marlins. In his fourth MLB start of the season, the right-hander pitched four-plus innings, allowing four earned runs on five hits. He walked four and struck out three.

Muñoz surrendered two home runs — a solo shot by Jose Ramirez in the first inning and a two-run blast by Steven Kwan in the fifth, after which he was replaced by reliever Declan Cronin. …

Third baseman Emmanuel Rivera came off the bench to pitch the ninth inning for the Marlins, allowing one hit and no runs.