The Marlins had an injury scare about the outfielder Kyle Stowers today, as he was scratched from his scheduled appearance in Miami today due to a strained hamstring. As noted by Christina De Nicola of MLB.com, manager Clayton McCullough told reporters this afternoon that the Stowers photo showed “too young” tighten his right hamstring.
While hamstring strains can be serious problems, even minor problems that cost players more than a month, it seems like Stowers’ fitness was caught early enough that it shouldn’t be a big problem for him. McCullough indicated that Stowers will be out for a week or two before returning to action, and that he may resume taking at-bats in the next few days. That’s good news for the Marlins considering Stowers is their best and most established hitter on the roster right now. The 2025 All Star is coming off a rookie campaign in which he slashed .288/.368/.544 with 25 homers and 21 doubles in 117 games.
If the Marlins are going to build on their third-place finish in the NL East last year and go over .500 for the first time since their first postseason in 2023, they’ll need Stowers to be healthy and firing on all cylinders. With Opening Day now just a month away, it’s understandable that Miami is keeping an eye on Stowers as they return him to game action in the coming weeks. If Stowers suffers a concussion or his hamstring worsens as he starts to ramp up, that could jeopardize his early season availability. The little ones Jacob Marsee again Owen Caissie he currently holds center field and right field for the Marlins, respectively, but a serious injury to Stowers could open the door to some combination The Griffin Conine, Javier Sanoja, Christopher Morelagain Esteury Ruiz to make him look absent.
Looking elsewhere on the Marlins’ roster, De Nicola also reports that the Marlins are the best Aiva Arquette he recently underwent muscle surgery and faces a four to six week recovery period before he can resume baseball activities. Arquette reportedly suffered from a strained left hip while working out, and while he’s been out of action and focused on recovery since then, his arrival at camp came with discomfort and led to the procedure. A consensus top 50 prospect in the sport, Arquette was Miami’s first round pick (seventh overall) in the 2025 draft. He struggled a bit in his first 27 games as a professional last year at the High-A level, but the 22-year-old figures to spend more time in Double-A when he’s ready to return to action and could be on the big league starter’s radar sometime next year.
Elsewhere in the infield, MLB.com notes that Graham Pauley has started working at fullback after being sidelined with arm stiffness earlier this week. Pauley is expected to throw 90 yards and take live at-bats today, and is expected to serve as the team’s DH in tomorrow’s Spring Training game against the Nationals. Assuming those initial steps go well, it makes sense that Pauley could return to normal activity sometime next week. Pauley hit just .224/.311/.366 in 64 games for the Marlins last year, but his lefty stick and strong defense at third could still get him work in the infield against tough righties all year long as a switch hitter. Xavier Edwards he is the only other outfielder on the proposed list who does not hit right.
