MIAMI – Marlins rookie outfielder Owen Caissie homered to begin his rehab assignment with Triple-A Jacksonville on Tuesday night.
Caissie, who was placed on the 10-day injured list on July 9 with a right calf strain, went 1-for-1 with a hit-by-pitch and two walks to go along with his homer. In his first plate appearance, he was hit in the hip area by an 83.4 mph changeup on the third pitch he saw.
In his final at-bat in the seventh, Caissie drew a four-pitch walk from Ryan Fernandez. He drew another one from Brycen Mautz in the fifth.
Through Caissie’s first two at-bats, Mason Molina worked him up and away for the most part, throwing his four-seamer for five of the first six pitches he threw to the lefty hitter. By the time Molina came back with another fastball, Caissie had seen enough.
The result was the kind of swing the Marlins hoped to see as Caissie works his way back from his injury. He drove a 93 mph fastball the other way and over the left-field wall for a solo homer. The Statcast-projected 349-foot blast left Caissie’s bat at 101.2 mph and gave Triple-A Jacksonville a 2-0 lead in the third.
The initial timetable called for a return during next weekend after Caissie initially felt some tightness on July 7. He was cleared on July 8, but he returned and exited that day’s game.
Before the Marlins’ 1-0 win against the Phillies at loanDepot park, manager Clayton McCullough said the plan was for the Ontario native to get somewhere between 11 to 13 plate appearances over the next three days with no off-days.
“He is going to DH today and then look to play the outfield [Wednesday],” McCullough said. “Then we’re still looking to have him DH the next day. … Then we’ll just see how he’s feeling and how he comes out of that.”
Caissie was acquired by the Marlins in a four-player trade from the Cubs in exchange for right-hander Edward Cabrera in January.
Caissie made the Opening Day roster and has appeared in right field in 70 games, with the 24-year-old slashing .239/.297/.459 with an .861 OPS since May 1. He ranks fourth on the team with 12 homers and second in RBIs with 50.