JUPITER, Fla. -- In a 30-minute stretch, the Marlins saw All-Star Kyle Stowers and Esteury Ruiz exit Friday night’s split-squad action due to injuries.
Both will be further evaluated to determine the severity.
Stowers, who strained his right hamstring earlier this spring, exited the game against the Astros in West Palm Beach with tightness in the same hamstring in the bottom of the third. He doubled and scored on Liam Hicks’ single in the second inning, then singled and advanced to second in the third.
“Whenever a player exits the game, it's not a great feeling, especially coming off some hamstring tightness over the past couple weeks,” bench coach Carson Vitale told reporters in West Palm Beach. “But I don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves, and hopefully, [the diagnosis] is not too bad, and we can take it day by day. But it's never great when a player has to leave a game.”
Miami had been cautious with Stowers since scratching him from the Feb. 28 lineup. His last game was on Feb. 26, and he didn’t return to Grapefruit League action until Saturday. In between, Stowers got live at-bats on the back fields to stay sharp. Friday marked just his third game back.
Ruiz grabbed at his left side and limped off the field following his swing on an 89.6 mph cutter that he fouled off during his third-inning at-bat in Jupiter against the Nationals. Ruiz was competing with fellow right-handed-hitting Heriberto Hernández for one of the final bench spots.
“No idea anything further,” manager Clayton McCullough said. “Took that swing, had some tightness in his left side. So that was an easy one just to pull the plug there, let him go get checked out. So [I] haven't heard anything more than the initial tightness that he had.”
Acquired from the Dodgers in January, the 27-year-old Ruiz had stolen five bases entering Friday. Though he has seen limited success at the plate (66 OPS+) in 197 MLB games from 2022-25, he stole an American League-high 67 bases in ‘23.
If Stowers were to miss time, it would be a big blow to the lineup. When his 2025 season prematurely ended due to a left oblique strain in August, Stowers ranked among the National League’s leaders in various offensive categories. He had to settle for 25 homers and 73 RBIs in 117 games.
Other 40-man outfield options include Jakob Marsee and Owen Caissie, who project to be the club’s primary center and right fielders, respectively, and fellow left-handed hitter Griffin Conine. Gold Glove-winning utility player Javier Sanoja and Christopher Morel, who will be Miami’s primary first baseman, can also play outfield.
The Marlins no longer have any non-roster invitees at big league camp. There were a slew of prospects, including reigning Minor League Player of the Year and No. 9 prospect Kemp Alderman, and Daniel Johnson. While the NRI prospects have yet to make The Show, Johnson has appeared in 67 big league games from 2020-25.
These late-spring injuries are reminiscent of last year, when the Marlins lost both third baseman Connor Norby and outfielder Jesús Sánchez to left oblique strains right before camp broke.
“Anytime injuries happen, no good,” McCullough said. “Just where we are in the calendar, we certainly don't know the extent of either, but you just run out of time. We'll see how things come back. Again, we still have a couple games left. Certainly want everybody to try to get out of here as healthy as they can be. We're still trying to get some guys built up that missed some time in camp, and other ones just plate appearances they need to hopefully put them in a good spot for when the season does get going.”