Marlins Suffer Huge Blow as Outfield Duo to Start Season on Injured List
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The Miami Marlins will be two players down on opening day at a position where they thought they were set.
MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola reported that All-Star left fielder Kyle Stowers and backup outfielder Esteury Ruiz will be on the injured list to start the 2026 season when the Marlins host the Colorado Rockies on Friday.
Both suffered injuries in separate split squad games on Friday.
Stowers has a grade one hamstring strain and is expected to miss three to four weeks. He missed two weeks of spring training with a hamstring issue. Ruiz will miss six to eight weeks with a high grade left oblique strain. He suffered that injury while taking a swing at a pitch. He left the game right after his at-bat.
The clarity helps the Marlins in terms of their roster. But it leaves them down one of their best hitters and one of their top depth pieces for the first month of the season.
Marlins Plan in Left Field
Stowers was expected to start in left field, where he was named an All-Star in 2025. He slashed .288/.368/.544 with 25 home runs and 73 RBI and is seen as a building block for the franchise’s future. He joined the Marlins in 2024 in a trade with the Baltimore Orioles.
On Saturday, the Marlins started Connor Norby in left field. He’s never played in the outfield in the Majors and last played in the outfield in the minor leagues in 2024. He’s been batting nearly .300 in spring training, but his glove has been an issue at third base. A move to the outfield could help keep his bat in the lineup.
On Sunday the Marlins will start Heriberto Hernández in left field. He’s one of several players on the left field depth chart. Hernández played 38 games in left field last year as a rookie.
The other two players listed are Owen Caissie, Griffin Conine and Javier Sanoja. Caissie is expected to be the starting right fielder, though he could be moved if the Marlins feel they have no other options. Conine hit a home run in Saturday’s spring training game and has played 25 games in two seasons with the Marlins. Sanoja has played 37 games in left field in two seasons and logged considerable time in the World Baseball Classic.
The Marlins know they’ll face a left-hander on opening day as the Rockies have set veteran Kyle Freeland as their starter. It may end up being a matchup where Miami starts a right-handed bat in left field to take advantage of that matchup.
For now, they’ll have to move forward without one of their best hitters, a considerable blow with just a few days before opening day.
