The Marlins will be without outfielder Kyle Stowers for several weeks after he suffered a Grade 1 strain in his left side, manager Clayton McCullough informed reporters (link via Christina De Nicola of MLB.com). He’ll go on the 10-day injured list before tomorrow’s series finale in Boston. Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase first reported that Miami will recall Joey Wiemer from Triple-A Jacksonville in the corresponding move.
Stowers felt the discomfort on a swing early in Friday’s game. He stayed in for the rest of the contest but lingering soreness sent him for imaging today. A Grade 1 strain is of the lowest severity, but even relatively minor side/oblique strains can cost hitters upwards of a month. Stowers seems likely to miss most of the remaining schedule.
It’ll hopefully be no more than a blip for Miami’s breakout slugger. Stowers earned his first All-Star selection and has a .288/.368/.544 slash line across 457 plate appearances. He has hit 25 home runs and had a good shot at cracking the 30-homer mark had he stayed healthy. While he’d fallen into a bit of a slump in August, he was the National League Player of the Month in July thanks to a monster .364/.451/.818 showing with 10 longballs in 24 games. That not coincidentally overlapped with Miami’s 15-10 showing last month, offering a hint of Stowers’ ability to carry a lineup when he’s going well.
Dane Myers has spent a good chunk of this season as the starting center fielder. He has ceded playing time since Jakob Marsee was promoted to take the center field job. Myers will probably get more playing time in left field. Wiemer, who was claimed off waivers from the Royals a couple weeks ago, is now in line for his team debut in a rotational corner outfield role.