Marlins outfielder Jesus Sanchez suffered a left oblique strain during Thursday’s Grapefruit League game against the Astros, as Miami manager Clayton McCullough told reporters (including MLB.com’s Chuck King). The injury will put Sanchez on the injured list to begin the season, and he’ll miss at least the next four weeks recovering.
That timeline is a little fluid, as McCullough said tests revealed Sanchez has somewhere between a Grade 1 and Grade 2 strain. “That’s one of those areas and things that are kind of tricky to nail down. Category one, you’re looking at [a return], probably optimistically…like a month from now,” McCullough said.
Given the perpetual overhaul that is the Marlins roster, Sanchez is the team’s longest-tenured position player, having played 446 games with the Fish since making his big league debut in 2020. A top-100 prospect during his time in the minors, Sanchez has shown some flashes of that potential in the Show, but is still looking to find consistency. His career 99 wRC+ (from a .240/.308/.428 slash line and 59 home runs) reflects how Sanchez has ultimately been pretty average, and his career slash just about matched his numbers during a 100 wRC+ season in 2024.
Sanchez had settled into a regular role as Miami’s right fielder over the last two years, and was projected to again get the bulk of the work in right in 2025, though the Fish were considering giving him more looks in center field. These plans will now be put on hold until Sanchez is healthy, and his absence creates a hole in the Marlins’ outfield.
Recent reports indicated that Derek Hill was pulling ahead of Dane Myers for the regular center field job, though Myers might now be utilized in right field with Sanchez out. Griffin Conine and utilitymen Javier Sanoja and Eric Wagaman provide further depth on the grass, and Albert Almora Jr. is more of a veteran outfield option in camp on a minors contract.
Since the Marlins are in clear rebuild mode, it is worth noting that this injury might also impact Sanchez’s trade value, even if there isn’t any indication that he wouldn’t be back in plenty of time before the July 31 trade deadline. Sanchez is in his first year of arbitration eligibility and is earning a $4.5MM salary for the 2025 season, making him the second-priciest player on the Miami roster apart from Sandy Alcantara.