Marlins outfielder Griffin Conine will undergo surgery on his left shoulder on Tuesday, the team announced to reporters (including MLB.com’s Josh Kirshenbaum). The specific nature of the surgery will be established when Conine meets with Dr. Neal ElAttrache on Monday, though the fact that a surgery has already been scheduled in advance of this consultation certainly raises fears that the procedure may end Conine’s season.
It was a week ago that Conine dislocated his shoulder sliding into second base on an RBI double in the Marlins’ 11-10 loss to the Phillies. Miami put the outfielder on the 60-day injured list the next day, and the direct 60-day placement (as opposed to even a token initial stint on the 15-day IL) was the first sign that Conine’s injury was particularly severe. Even in the best-case scenario of a relatively minor surgery, Conine will surely be out of action until after the All-Star break.
Conine was hitting a solid .281/.352/.438 over his first 71 plate appearances before suffering the dislocation, which came on the heels of a similar .268/.326/.451 slash line in 89 PA in 2024 after Conine made his Major League debut. The son of “Mr. Marlin” Jeff Conine, young Griffin was a second-round pick for the Blue Jays in the 2018 draft, and he was dealt to his dad’s former team back in August 2020. Conine’s career minor league numbers have been more solid than spectacular, but he booked his first ticket to the Show after hitting .268/.350/.475 and 19 homers over 437 PA with Triple-A Jacksonville last season.
Though Conine is 27 years old and something of a late bloomer when it comes to his big league arrival, his early success has earned him more playing time. Strikeouts have been a problem since Conine has whiffed in 47 of his 160 career trips to the plate against MLB pitching, but he has made a lot of hard contact this year, while also boosting his walk rate to above-average levels. It was enough for the Marlins to deploy Conine in an everyday role, mostly as a left fielder with a few appearances in right field and as a DH.
Javier Sanoja, Ronny Simon, and Eric Wagaman have all seen time in left field in the past week, and outfield prospect Jakob Marsee could be in line to make his big league debut at some point in 2025. The rebuilding Marlins aren’t likely to go out and get any kind of veteran outfield help outside of a pure stopgap measure, as the club is much more likely to keep giving playing time to younger players or players already in the organization.
Jeff Conine played with reckless abandon. Looks like this nut didn’t fall far from the tree.
For the record, I loved Jeff Conine.
A lone bright star in Miami’s offense. This could impact his power, similar to what we saw with Bellinger.
@Old York
You’re right about the negative impact on his power. But we have other guys who can carry the load. Like Edwards, Ramirez, Stowers, Norby and Wagaman. Maybe Pauley and Mervis as well. It’s a good nucleus. We’ll be fine.