JUPITER, Fla. -- Marlins infielder Graham Pauley received good news on Tuesday on the injury front, as imaging for his right elbow came back clean with no UCL damage.
Pauley, who hasn't appeared in a Spring Training game, underwent testing on Monday morning.
"It was good news that he's able to get out and take ground balls and participate, really, in any baseball activities outside of throwing and hitting for a couple of days, and then I think we'll just continue after a few days to see how the forearm area continues to feel, and then can build him back up from a throwing and hitting standpoint with how he responds," manager Clayton McCullough said. "But good news [is] that it sounds like this is going to be on the shorter end, and so good news to get on the medical front."
Pauley first alerted the medical staff around a week ago of the discomfort. From then until now, he had been limiting his throws and swings.
"I was trying to just get through it," Pauley said. "A lot of the times when I started to feel stuff in my arm or anything, I can just continue to throw and it kind of worked itself out, but it's something that wasn't, so I was a little concerned and wanted to get that checked out."
This spring, the left-handed-hitting Pauley is competing with the right-handed-hitting Connor Norby for the starting third-base job. Since the Marlins value defensive versatility, he can also bounce around the infield at second and first. Last year, Pauley made the Opening Day roster when Norby sustained a left oblique strain on the second-to-last day of Spring Training.
Pauley, 25, went on to slash .224/.311/.366 with nine doubles, one triple and four homers in 62 games during his rookie season, though he saw a vast improvement following the All-Star break.
Here are the splits:
First half: .200/.258/.271 with six doubles, 21 strikeouts and seven walks in 94 plate appearances
Second half: .250/.367/.474 with three doubles, one triple, four homers, 15 strikeouts and 14 walks in 90 plate appearances
Defensively, Pauley ranked second in outs above average (six) and tied for eighth in defensive runs saved (three) among National League third basemen (min. 350 innings).
"I want to play as soon as possible," Pauley said. "I'm ready to play, but hopefully, by the end of this week, I'm back in games. Hopefully no more than two weeks. But I'm ready to play. I'm ready to get back out there."