What Jesús Sánchez's injury means for Marlins outfield competition

West Palm Beach, Fla.—Jesús Sánchez will miss at least the first two weeks of the regular season with a left oblique strain. The 27-year-old outfielder was injured on a check swing against the Houston Astros on Thursday. He managed to hit a double in that at-bat, but was removed for a pinch-runner one batter later.

Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said the imaging revealed a “grade one-plus” strain, which “optimistically” has a recovery time of about one month.

“All you can do now is take the time that's required to have this thing heal up and get yourself built back up,” McCullough said. “Because it's not an area and a place where you want to be too aggressive with how you come back, because we’ve just seen a lot of cases where those things can linger.”

Sánchez dealt with right elbow inflammation earlier in spring training, but this oblique strain seems to be an unrelated injury.

The Marlins looked at Sánchez as someone who would carry a majority of the power in this lineup, especially after trading away fellow slugger Jake Burger over the offseason. Sánchez hit a career-high 18 home runs last year. Jonah Bride is now the only healthy player on the roster who hit more than ten against MLB pitching last year.

Sánchez's three years and 118 days of major league service time was the highest among Miami position players. Catcher Nick Fortes (2.149) will be the most experienced hitter on the Opening Day roster unless the Marlins make a move prior to then.

As for the outfield, this injury should increase playing time for Dane Myers and Derek Hill while creating a clearer path for corner outfielders in Kyle Stowers and Griffin Conine to both make the club. All of the above spent part of the 2024 season with the Fish.

“We’re feeling really good about where Derek Hill is right now, and the at-bat quality he's shown, certainly the ability to play center,” McCullough said. “Dane Myers has had a good camp in that regard as well. Griff, Stowers, we still have plenty of options, and it just opens up some opportunity for others to take on some more regular playing time.”

Conine and Stowers are perhaps the biggest beneficiaries of this development. Both are left-handed hitters with good raw power, just like Sánchez.

Stowers, who came over from the Baltimore Orioles last July in exchange for Trevor Rogers, has played sparingly in the majors the past three seasons. Conine, who has been in the Marlins organization since 2020, made his MLB debut last September. Both players put up solid power numbers in streaks, but struggled with strikeouts, each recording a strikeout rate of over 30 percent last season.

In 11 Grapefruit League games, Conine has slashed .258/.343/.355 with one home run. Stowers has slashed .167/.394/.167 in 10 games.

Fellow outfielders Albert Almora Jr. and Heriberto Hernández also remain in big league camp as non-roster invitees.

“It's a big piece for us,” McCullough said. “Jesús has been a performer. We were counting on him. But it's kind of next man up, and it'll be an opportunity for others to get a chance to get out there.”