Marlins outfielder Jesus Sanchez suffered a left oblique strain during Thursday’s Grapefruit League game against the Astros, as Miami manager Clayton McCullough told reporters (including MLB.com’s Chuck King). The injury will put Sanchez on the injured list to begin the season, and he’ll miss at least the next four weeks recovering.
That timeline is a little fluid, as McCullough said tests revealed Sanchez has somewhere between a Grade 1 and Grade 2 strain. “That’s one of those areas and things that are kind of tricky to nail down. Category one, you’re looking at [a return], probably optimistically…like a month from now,” McCullough said.
Given the perpetual overhaul that is the Marlins roster, Sanchez is the team’s longest-tenured position player, having played 446 games with the Fish since making his big league debut in 2020. A top-100 prospect during his time in the minors, Sanchez has shown some flashes of that potential in the Show, but is still looking to find consistency. His career 99 wRC+ (from a .240/.308/.428 slash line and 59 home runs) reflects how Sanchez has ultimately been pretty average, and his career slash just about matched his numbers during a 100 wRC+ season in 2024.
Sanchez had settled into a regular role as Miami’s right fielder over the last two years, and was projected to again get the bulk of the work in right in 2025, though the Fish were considering giving him more looks in center field. These plans will now be put on hold until Sanchez is healthy, and his absence creates a hole in the Marlins’ outfield.
Recent reports indicated that Derek Hill was pulling ahead of Dane Myers for the regular center field job, though Myers might now be utilized in right field with Sanchez out. Griffin Conine and utilitymen Javier Sanoja and Eric Wagaman provide further depth on the grass, and Albert Almora Jr. is more of a veteran outfield option in camp on a minors contract.
Since the Marlins are in clear rebuild mode, it is worth noting that this injury might also impact Sanchez’s trade value, even if there isn’t any indication that he wouldn’t be back in plenty of time before the July 31 trade deadline. Sanchez is in his first year of arbitration eligibility and is earning a $4.5MM salary for the 2025 season, making him the second-priciest player on the Miami roster apart from Sandy Alcantara.
Not a coincidence the four week time line lines up with Easter.
Nice observation
Comedy like this is why I come to comment section
That’s what Jesus said
Maybe his talent will finally rise again. He’s not reached his potential yet
He might need to be a carptenter with a man named Joseph first
marlins medical department is by far the worst in mlb, so many injuries.
Marlins need to invest in a Medical Dept that avoids players from getting injured like all other MLB ball clubs. Cheap owner!!
Exactly. If the Marlins weren’t so cheap they’d do like the rich clubs and buy a crystal ball that foretells and predicts the future, thus allowing them to avoid injuries.
How about the fact that they are continually dismantling and rebuilding? Rather than injuries, I think that’s a bigger problem.
i dont understand how these guys are so fragile. The best medical staff, super scientific baseball staff, yet every other person is hurt.
SOMETHING is wrong with baseball
They were better off like John Kruk…. 6 cigarette packs a day, several beers in the clubhouse, and love handles for days. Less to strain.
Players are straining their bodies more than ever, pushing them to the limits, whether that’s swinging for the fences or throwing as hard as possible with as much movement as possible. They’re approaching the limits of what the human body is capable. It’s simply what’s required of them to make and stay in the major leagues.
How bad does an oblique strain have to be to miss like 80% of the season?
He’s going to miss about 4 weeks or so. We’re still in spring training. where does the article say he’s going to miss 80% of the year?
At first glance I thought it said 4 months. Lol
Anthony Rendon could figure out a way
“Could figure out a way”…I think he already has. It’s a new found way to legally steal millions upon millions of dollars.
Garrrr Peter. Rendon needs the ghost of Parches O’Houllihan and Steve the Pirate to help him. Just remember Pepper Needs new shorts!
This is what happens when you try to make a guy not a Cf into a cf. smh cmon Miami he did not need this.
You’re so right!!
Forget about the fact that Fish played him in RF the past couple years and will continue to play him at RF in 2025 but you make an excellent point.
Maybe when the marlins invest in a better medical dept then they move him to CF. But your point is still spot on!!
They needed to focus on the bat. Not the flip on cf marketability. Don’t like this one at all on a huge year coming out of him and it’s an oblique injury on top.
Man this is as bad of news for Miami as mattlingley throwing alcantaras back to back cy young’s out the window over 150 pitch counts.
Just awful stuff. Trade alcantara. Make weathers the defacto one today.
Marlins season is over.
Maybe by 3/27, but Bendix is not ready to throw the white flag yet.
What is with the rash of oblique injuries? I don’t remember this being a thing 10-15 years ago.
Power is the name of the game, so players are swinging out of their shoes nearly every time.
When people want to blame analytics for the problems with baseball, this is the one area I will concede they have a point. The push to optimize performance to win has pushed players’ bodies to the breaking point.
They teach everything begins with the core for more power now….I’ve seen it even in little leagues these days. ‘Swing from the core and let your hands follow thru’. Teaching even little kids about more & more power has created this monster unfortunately.
Bet they still won’t call verdugo
I don’t believe a vertigo diagnosis would actually help, but you never do know.
Baseball is currently evolving through an unsustainable phase. Pitchers trying to throw harder with higher spin rates causing starters to have shorter starts and the bottom relievers being overused and discarded to be picked up and repeated by the next club.
Hitters loving the exit velocity and hard hit rate spend longer in the weight room to make that possible, making themselves more vulnerable to strain and pull injuries. I am wondering if Ichiro might be right in his assertion that players would be better off giving more effort to increased flexibility rather than entirely to strength.
It’s going to take people smarter than me to figure this out, but even if someone comes up with good solid statistics about the health dangers of the chase for more power and greater spin rates I would wish them good luck trying to get that genie back in the bottle
This is a glorified salary dump. The front office isn’t trying to build a winner—they’re just running out the clock until the next ownership reset.