The Marlins needed some good news on the injury front.
Wei-Yin Chen threw a baseball for the first time Wednesday since sustaining a left elbow sprain that landed him on the disabled list on July 25.
Chen said he threw 25 times from a distance of about 60 feet and felt pain-free after the session.
Chen felt discomfort in the elbow following his last start on July 20 in Philadelphia, his second following the All-Star break. He gave up four earned runs in each of those outings.
"I feel pretty well, and my elbow feels strong," Chen said. "We have to be careful with it and do everything step by step. I don't have a timetable for when I can come back, but I'm hoping to do everything pain-free."
Chen said he planned on throwing every other day for the time being to see how his elbow responds.
Barring any setbacks, Chen hopes he can gradually build his stamina back up to be ready by September.
Chen, who is 5-4 with a 4.99 ERA in 19 starts this season (110 innings), is aiming to return with enough time to help the Marlins during a potential playoff push.
The Marlins remain in the thick of the chase for one of the National League's wild-card spots despite having to shuffle pieces in their starting rotation and bullpen in recent weeks.
Chen's return would alleviate depth concerns in both areas.
The Marlins placed closer A.J. Ramos on the disabled list Tuesday and had already moved late-inning reliever David Phelps from the bullpen to the rotation to fill their unstable fifth starting spot.
Since the injury happened to the same elbow he underwent Tommy John surgery on 10 years ago while pitching in Taiwan, Chen said he will proceed with caution.
"I definitely hope I can pitch again this year," Chen said. "If everything goes on schedule, definitely I will be able to pitch again this year. Since it's my elbow, we want to be careful with that. We don't want to rush it and irritate it again."
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