Marlins Most Glaring Question at Left Field Before Opening Day
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Things can change quickly in spring training. Just ask the Miami Marlins about left field.
In one evening, the starting left fielder for opening day became an open question and perhaps the most glaring question the Marlins must answer in the next week.
Miami was playing split squad games on Friday night. In one game, All-Star Kyle Stowers left the game with right hamstring tightness. He missed two weeks of spring training with a hamstring issue.
At the other game, Esteury Ruiz, an outfielder the Marlins traded for in January, tweaked his oblique as he swung at a pitch. He left the game limping right.
Now, the Marlins have big questions in left field.
How Marlins Could Answer Left Field Question
First, the Marlins must determine the extent of the injuries to both Stowers and Ruiz. According to Alex Krutchik at Fist on First, Ruiz has a left oblique strain and Stowers is still being evaluated. So, their status for Friday’s opening day game with the Colorado Rockies is in doubt. There is a chance that both could start the season on the injured list.
The Marlins have two spring training games left, followed by four off days, to determine their status and to figure out what they could do with left field if neither can play. Miami took an intriguing step in Saturday's spring training game — it started Connor Norby in left field.
Norby has never played a game in the outfield in the Majors, and he’s struggled defensively as an infielder. But the promise in his bat is too high to ignore. His bat has been solid in spring training, with a slash of .293/.310/.390 entering the game. He’s played in the outfield in the minor leagues.
Miami has more traditional options. The depth chart behind Norby is significant and includes Heriberto Hernández, Owen Caissie, Griffin Conine and Javier Sanoja. Caissie is listed as the starting right fielder and the Marlins prefer to keep him there. Jakob Marsee is the starting center fielder. Hernández, Conine and Sanoja are all listed as backups at multiple positions, so the focus will probably land on them if Stowers and Ruiz can’t go.
Hernández played 38 games in left field last year as a rookie. Conine has played 25 games in two seasons with the Marlins. Sanoja has played 37 games in left field in two seasons.
It may boil down to the hot hand at the plate going into the season. That bat probably belongs to Hernández, who has three home runs in 13 spring training games.
That’s why it’s such a glaring question with less than a week to go before opening day.
