Marlins third baseman Connor Norby (left oblique strain) to miss 4 weeks

[Kevin Barral]

Another integral piece of the Marlins will now begin the season on the injured list.

MIAMI, FL—On Tuesday, Miami Marlins manager Clayton McCullough announced that third baseman Connor Norby suffered a grade one left oblique strain. He will begin the season on the injured list and miss four weeks. The injury occurred during Saturday's spring game in West Palm Beach against the Houston Astros.

"He was in a really good spot with Opening Day right here, for it to go down when it did," said McCullough. "Guys will step up and get a chance in his absence and we hope he gets back as quickly as he can. We know he'll do everything in his power to take care of himself and be ready when his body allows him."

Norby, who the Marlins acquired along with Kyle Stowers from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for Trevor Rogers, played in 36 games for Miami following the trade and hit .247/.315/.445/.760 with seven home runs, 17 RBI and a 104 OPS+. Through 15 spring games, Norby slashed .255/.294/.404/.698 with one home run and six RBI.

After being optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville earlier in camp, third baseman Graham Pauley is here with the Marlins and started in the exhibition game against the New York Yankees. McCullough did say that no move has been made yet, but he is someone who may be presented with an opportunity to make the Opening Day roster.

"It's an interesting time of year," McCullough said. "Other things going on here as teams are setting their roster. I think we're still making some decisions on what our final roster will look like."

On Tuesday, Pauley was in the Marlins lineup hitting ninth and in the bottom of the fourth inning, he took Yankees starter Will Warren deep for a solo homer. The ball left the bat at 107.9 mph and went 384 feet to right-center field. That was his first home run of the spring.

Two other names to keep an eye on who may see some action at third while Norby is out are Eric Wagaman and Jonah Bride.

Wagaman, who the Marlins signed to a split deal in free agency, appeared in 16 spring games, slashing .245/.315/.408/.723 with two home runs and six RBI. He had mainly been developed as a first baseman prior to last season, but has since added some defensive versatility.

Bride, who played in 16 spring games, slashed .195/.370/.341/.711 with one home run and three RBI. Like Wagaman, he can play first and third base. Expect him to split time at first with Matt Mervis assuming Pauley is on the roster.

"We've at least tried to prepare as many of those that are here with us as we could," McCullough said. "You just never know what's going to happen during the season, so to keep a lot of those avenues open during spring training and get the reps over there in the event things come up."

The Marlins could have as many as eight players on the major league injured list to begin the season. Braxton Garrett, Andrew Nardi and Eury Pérez are already on the 60-day IL; Norby, Declan Cronin, Jesús Sánchez, Edward Cabrera and Ryan Weathers are all candidates for either the 10-day or 15-day IL. So far, only Garrett (left elbow UCL revision surgery) has been ruled out for the whole season.

Opening Day is set for Thursday, March 27 at 4:10 pm against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

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