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East Notes: Marte, Soroka, Yankees, Galvis

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Marlins center fielder Starling Marte went on the injured list with a fractured left rib a week ago, and he’s continuing to deal with “discomfort,” Craig Mish of SportsGrid tweets. The Marlins still don’t have a timetable for when Marte will restart baseball activities, according to Mish. Miami has given center field starts to Lewis Brinson, Magneuris Sierra and Adam Duvall in the absence of Marte, who got off to a great start this year with a .310/.414/.483 line and two home runs in 70 plate appearances before he went to the IL. Brinson, Sierra and Duvall haven’t been nearly as successful, as all three have logged production ranging from below average to terrible.

Here’s more from the East Coast…

  • Braves right-hander Mike Soroka’s injured pitching shoulder is “structurally sound,” per David O’Brien of The Athletic. However, Soroka still has not returned to throwing almost three weeks since the Braves shut him down with inflammation on April 7, so it remains unclear when he could make his season debut. The last year-plus has been unfortunate on the health front for Soroka, who missed most of 2020 with a torn right Achilles before his current issue cropped up. As a result of his injuries, Soroka hasn’t really gotten a chance to follow up on an All-Star 2019 in which he recorded a 2.68 ERA in 174 2/3 innings.
  • The Yankees suffered their 13th loss in 22 games Monday, falling 4-2 in Baltimore, but manager Aaron Boone did issue some positive injury updates beforehand (Twitter links via Marly Rivera of ESPN). First baseman and 2020 major league home run king Luke Voit is ramping up his activities as he works back from knee surgery. Left-handed reliever Zack Britton, who’s recovering from the arthroscopic elbow surgery he underwent in March, is slated to begin throwing from the mound at the end of the week. Based on the three- to four-month timeline the Yankees provided when Britton went under the knife, he won’t rejoin their bullpen until June or July. Meanwhile, righty Clarke Schmidt – who’s also on the mend from elbow trouble – has begun a throwing program, which is “going well,” per Boone.
  • Orioles shortstop Freddy Galvis exited their win over New York with left adductor soreness, the O’s announced. Manager Brandon Hyde told reporters (including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com) that Galvis is day-to-day with groin tightness. Galvis, whom the Orioles signed to a one-year, $1.5MM guarantee in free agency, has been quite durable during his career – including this season. He has started all 22 of Baltimore’s games thus far and batted a solid .264/.321/.458 with a pair of home runs in 79 trips to the plate. When Galvis went down Monday, the Orioles moved Ramon Urias from second to short and brought in Rio Ruiz to handle the keystone.

NL East Notes: Fried, Maton, Duvall

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Sunday was a day to forget for the Braves, as the team had only one hit in the first game of a doubleheader against the Diamondbacks, and then had zero hits against Madison Bumgarner in the nightcap.  As per the official record, Major League Baseball is not recognizing Bumgarner’s feat as a no-hitter since the game was only a seven-inning contest, so the Braves avoided being no-hit for the 18th time in their franchise history.  (Though there has already been enough controversy over the league’s ruling that one wonders if Bumgarner could be retroactively awarded a no-hitter in time.)  The Braves did achieve one infamous distinction, however, as they now hold the record for fewest hits by any team in a doubleheader.

More from the NL East…

  • Max Fried’s stay on the injured list has already gone beyond the minimum 10 days, though MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets that there’s a chance Fried could be available to pitch in this weekend’s series between the Braves and the Blue Jays.  Bowman wrote last Friday that there wasn’t yet a timeline on Fried’s recovery from a hamstring strain, though the southpaw was taking part in fielding drills and he threw a side session.  Facing the Jays in an AL ballpark would also keep Fried from having to take any at-bats — he suffered his hamstring injury while running the bases.  It has been a very rough start to the season for Fried, between the IL stint and the 11.45 ERA he has posted over his first 11 innings.
  • Nick Maton’s MLB career has gotten off to a dream start, as the 24-year-old has hit .500/.542/.636 over his first 24 plate appearances as a big leaguer.  Maton was initially called up to fill in for Didi Gregorius and then Jean Segura while the two were nursing injuries, though the Phillies are now looking for ways to get Maton into the lineup whenever possible.  “I told him to take flyballs everywhere.  You never know in the National League game what’s going to happen,” manager Joe Girardi told NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Corey Seidman and other reporters.  A seventh-round draft pick for the Phils in 2017, Maton mostly played shortstop in the minors and saw some action at second and third base, though he has never played the outfield as a professional.  Maton has been working out at all three outfield spots, though Seidman notes that center field has been the biggest problem area for the Phillies, as Adam Haseley, Roman Quinn, and Mickey Moniak have all struggled at the plate.
  • Speaking of new center fielders, Adam Duvall got his first-ever start at the position in yesterday’s 4-3 Marlins loss to the Giants.  Duvall played the first seven innings up the middle before moving over to right field for the bottom of the eighth.  Miami skipper Don Mattingly told MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola and other reporters that the move was made to add more offense, since “obviously we’re having a battle trying to put some runs on the board,” though Mattingly admitted that “it’s a catch-22 that we make ourselves a little different defensively in center.”  With Starling Marte on the injured list due to a rib fracture, the Marlins have mostly gone with Lewis Brinson as the center field replacement, but Brinson hasn’t been hitting.  Duvall has been mostly a corner outfielder and first baseman over his eight-year MLB career, though he did make one other appearance as a center fielder; Duvall played an inning at the position on August 11, 2020 when he was a member of the Braves.

COVID Notes: 4/24/21

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The latest coronavirus-related situations from around baseball…

Latest Updates

  • The Dodgers are placing reliever Dennis Santana on the COVID injured list after he experienced side effects related to the vaccine, manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Juan Toribio of MLB.com). The right-hander pitched in mop-up duty against the Padres last night, allowing a pair of runs on two hits and two walks in one inning of work.

Earlier Notes

  • Jose Altuve was placed on the Astros’ injury list on April 14, and the second baseman confirmed to reporters (including the Houston Chronicle’s Danielle Lerner) today that his placement was due to a positive COVID-19 test.  Altuve isn’t in today’s Astros lineup but he did say he’s feeling better, so a return to the field shouldn’t be too far away.
  • The Marlins have closed down their minor league complex through the weekend due to multiple COVID-19 positives, Fox Sports Radio 640’s Andy Slater reports (Twitter link).  A team spokesman told Slater that the shutdown “will not have an impact on the start of the seasons” for Miami’s affiliates, all scheduled to begin play on May 4.  At least five players and staffers tested positive for the coronavirus, according to SportsGrid’s Craig Mish (via Twitter).
  • The Twins reinstated southpaw Caleb Thielbar from the COVID-IL, the team announced, with right-hander Luke Farrell optioned to the alternate site in a corresponding move.  Thielbar was placed on the IL on April 20 along with Max Kepler and Kyle Garlick, though while the two outfielders actually tested positive for the virus, Thielbar was noted only as a close contact.  Thielbar has a whopping 48.4% strikeout rate over seven innings this season but only a 5.14 ERA, thanks in large part to three home runs allowed.

NL East Notes: Nationals, Soto, Harris, Marlins, Garrett, Hernandez

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The Nationals are without a pair of star players, as both Juan Soto (shoulder strain) and Stephen Strasburg (shoulder inflammation) are on the injured list at the moment. General manager Mike Rizzo told reporters this week, however, that he doesn’t expect either to be a long-term issue (link via Ethan Cadeaux of NBC Sports Washington). “We nipped this in the bud early and before it came really bad, so that’s a good thing,” said Rizzo of Soto’s shoulder strain. Strasburg’s stay on the IL will extend beyond the 10-day minimum, as he’ll need a bit of time to ramp up after being shut down from throwing. The GM didn’t offer as much on Strasburg’s injury but noted that the pitcher himself isn’t concerned at this point.

A few more notes on Washington and a division rival…

  • Nationals reliever Will Harris discussed the right hand inflammation that has delayed his season debut with Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post. The veteran righty tells Dougherty he’s still battling swelling in his fingers and forearm that progressively builds as he pitches, only to subside shortly after he’s completed his outing. Harris says he’s pain-free but the swelling has impacted his ability to command the ball and impart movement on his breaking pitches. As Harris and the organization search for ways to reduce its effect on the quality of his stuff, the 36-year-old continues to rehab and says he anticipates he’ll be ready for game action in a “few more weeks.” Dougherty’s interview with Harris is worth a full read for an examination of the rather bizarre situation.
  • The Marlins have passed over former first-round pick Braxton Garrett a few times early in the season when they’ve had open spots in the rotation. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes that general manager Kim Ng wouldn’t tip her hand as to whether Garrett would be an option this time around, particularly now with the struggling Nick Neidert optioned back to the team’s alternate site. Manager Don Mattingly spoke highly of Garrett’s showing in Spring Training, noting that the lefty was “more physical” than in 2020 and emphasizing the importance of fastball command for Garrett. The 23-year-old Garrett yielded five earned runs in 7 2/3 frames during a pair of starts in last summer’s MLB debut, and he fired four shutout innings during Spring Training. He’s missed a season due to Tommy John surgery since being selected seventh overall in 2016, but with prospects Sixto Sánchez and Edward Cabrera sidelined due to injury at present, Garrett could factor into the mix at some point early this year.
  • Sánchez and Cabrera aren’t the only Marlins starting pitchers currently sidelined by injury. Elieser Hernández has been on the shelf for most of the month after leaving his first start of the season with biceps inflammation. The righty is currently throwing from 90 feet without issue and is scheduled for a bullpen session next week, relays Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald (Twitter link). The 25-year-old Hernández earned a spot in the Marlins’ season-opening rotation with six very strong starts in 2020.

Marlins Place Brian Anderson On 10-Day IL, Recall Jose Devers

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The Marlins have placed third baseman Brian Anderson on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to April 21, with a left oblique strain, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald tweets. They’ve also recalled infielder Jose Devers and right-hander Jordan Holloway.

Anderson was a quality performer from 2018-20, during which he combined to hit .266/.350/.436 with 42 home runs and 7.7 fWAR in 1,419 plate appearances. However, his production early this year has fallen well short of the numbers he put together during that three-season stretch. Through 65 plate appearances in 2021, the 27-year-old has batted .183/.246/.283 with one homer. Jon Berti looks like the leading candidate to start in Anderson’s place for as long as he’s out.

This will be the first major league opportunity for the 21-year-old Devers, who’s a cousin of Red Sox standout third baseman Rafael Devers. Jose Devers – whom the Yankees sent to the Marlins in 2017 as part of the teams’ blockbuster Giancarlo Stanton trade – hasn’t played above High-A ball yet, and he owns a .278/.339/.348 line with one HR and 37 stolen bases in 784 minor league PA. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen ranked Devers 25th among Marlins prospects last week, writing that his speed and ability to handle both middle infield positions could make him a useful bench player in the majors.

MLBTR Poll: Struggling 2020 Playoff Teams

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This season has not started in ideal fashion for the majority of last year’s 16-team playoff field. While the Dodgers, Brewers and Athletics boast terrific records at roughly the 20-game mark, everybody else who qualified for the postseason in 2020 is, at best, hovering around .500. Eight of those clubs currently have more losses than wins (we’ll get to them in a bit).

With a 162-game schedule instead of a 60-game slate, slumping teams have far more time to rebound from slow starts this season. On the other hand, only 10 clubs will make the playoffs in 2021, so teams can ill afford to dig early holes for themselves.

American League

Twins (2020 record: 36-24; 2021 record: 6-11):

  • The Twins are coming off an 0-4, COVID-interrupted road trip that came to a horrific end with a 13-12 loss Wednesday, when sloppy defense led to an extra-innings collapse against the A’s. Reliever Alex Colome – the Twins’ keynote bullpen acquisition of the offseason – took the loss, continuing a rough start to the year for him. Meanwhile, ace Kenta Maeda turned in his worst performance of the season (seven earned runs in three innings) and has only gotten past the 4 1/3-frame mark in one of his four starts. The Twins will likely need the Maeda of old back if they’re going to push for a third straight AL Central title, though Jose Berrios and Michael Pineda have helped pick up the slack in their rotation so far. Meanwhile, the Twins’ offense hasn’t been a juggernaut (Josh Donaldson, Max Kepler and Andrelton Simmons have missed time with health issues), but Byron Buxton may be in the early stages of a breakthrough year at the plate and Nelson Cruz isn’t showing signs of slowing down.

Yankees (2020 record: 33-27; 2021 record: 6-11):

  • The Yankees were pegged as serious World Series contenders entering the season, but they have looked like bottom-feeders so far. What was supposed to be a high-powered offense has totaled the AL’s fewest runs and put up its second-worst wRC+, owing in part to the absence of injured 2020 home run king Luke Voit. The Yankees’ pitching has been much better than their hitting, but that’s largely thanks to the work of their bullpen – which hasn’t had many leads to protect. Gerrit Cole and, to a much lesser extent, Jordan Montgomery have carried their rotation, while offseason acquisitions Corey Kluber and Jameson Taillon haven’t been all that effective coming off injuries, and Domingo German has struggled mightily in his return from a domestic violence suspension. The Yankees should get former ace Luis Severino back from Tommy John surgery during the summer, but there’s no telling how he’ll perform in the wake of two straight injury-wrecked seasons.

Blue Jays (2020 record: 32-28; 2021 record: 8-10):

  • The Jays have dealt with a rash of injuries to their pitching staff, including in their rotation – an area that could be a significant question mark even if everyone’s healthy. They have also had to go without their main offseason acquisition, center fielder George Springer, though he shouldn’t be far off from returning from a quad strain. To the Jays’ credit, they’ve essentially tread water thus far, and their plus-10 run differential does rank third in the AL.

Astros (2020 record: 29-31; 2021 record: 7-10):

  • The Astros sneaked into the playoffs last year with a sub-.500 record, though they still came within a game of reaching the World Series for the third time in four seasons. However, the team then got weaker in the offseason with the loss of Springer, whom it didn’t adequately replace, and was dealt another blow when starter Framber Valdez suffered a serious finger injury at the beginning of the spring. The Astros reacted by signing veteran Jake Odorizzi, who has delivered miserable results through his first two starts. Aside from Zack Greinke and Luis Garcia, Astros starters have not gotten the job done, while their bullpen has also been a letdown in the early going. Fortunately, even without Springer, a healthy version of Houston’s offense still brings plenty of firepower to the table.

Which of the above four AL teams do you believe has the best chance to rebound and make the playoffs? (Poll link for app users)

Which AL team is most likely to bounce back?
Yankees 44.97% (3,074 votes)
Blue Jays 20.66% (1,412 votes)
Twins 19.09% (1,305 votes)
Astros 15.27% (1,044 votes)
Total Votes: 6,835

National League

Braves (2020 record: 35-25; 2021 record: 8-10)

  • The back-to-back-to-back NL East champions have fallen behind in April, thanks in part to injuries to starters Mike Soroka, Max Fried and Drew Smyly. The Braves overcame a series of health problems in their staff last year to earn a trip to the NLCS, of course, but an elite offense led the way then. Their attack has been above average again this year, though Ronald Acuna Jr. and Freddie Freeman are their only regulars who have offered star-caliber production. Conversely, Marcell Ozuna, Ozzie Albies, Dansby Swanson, Travis d’Arnaud have gotten off to brutal starts at the plate.

Cubs (2020 record: 34-26; 2021 record: 8-9)

  • The most significant move the Cubs executed over the winter was one that weakened them, at least in the short term. The team said goodbye to Yu Darvish, sending the 2020 NL Cy Young finalist to San Diego for fellow righty Zach Davies and a few prospects. Cutting costs was part of the motivation for that trade and in general when it came to the Cubs’ offseason; as a result, many were bearish on their chances heading into 2021. So far, the preseason pessimism has been warranted. The Cubs have not hit much, evidenced by bottom four National League rankings in runs and wRC+, and their pitching staff owns the NL’s third-highest ERA. Of their starters, only Jake Arrieta and Alec Mills have managed to post an ERA south of 5.00 so far. Surprisingly, the club’s best pitcher has been closer Craig Kimbrel, who’s back in dominant form after he was largely written off before the season.

Cardinals (2020 record: 30-28; 2021 record: 8-10):

  • The Cardinals pulled off one of the ultimate headline-grabbing moves of the offseason in acquiring star third baseman Nolan Arenado from the Rockies. The hope then was that Arenado would lift an offense that finished 2020 with a less-than-stellar wRC+ of 93. Arenado has indeed notched solid production so far, yet the Cardinals’ wRC+ sits at an almost identical 94 through 18 games. Meantime, the bottom-line results of the Cardinals’  starters have been a far bigger problem, as their rotation – which is missing the injured Miles Mikolas – has recorded the NL’s fifth-worst ERA.

Marlins (2020 record: 31-29; 2021 record: 8-9):

Which of the above four NL teams do you believe has the best chance to rebound and make the playoffs? (Poll link for app users)

Which NL team is most likely to bounce back?
Braves 69.72% (4,849 votes)
Cardinals 21.47% (1,493 votes)
Cubs 5.65% (393 votes)
Marlins 3.16% (220 votes)
Total Votes: 6,955

Latest On Sixto Sanchez

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The Marlins have gone the entire season thus far without one of their most promising young players, injured right-hander Sixto Sanchez, and his return is not imminent. General manager Kim Ng told Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald and other reporters that Sanchez is “still a ways out” in his recovery from shoulder inflammation.

Health has been an issue since last month for Sanchez, who started the spring behind schedule because of COVID-19 protocols and didn’t make his exhibition debut until March 15. The Marlins optioned Sanchez to the minors before the regular season to let him continue building up arm strength, but his shoulder began bothering him during a simulated game on April 1.

Naturally, the Marlins aren’t going to rush Sanchez back, as the 22-year-old is among their most valuable building blocks. Originally acquired in a 2019 trade that sent star catcher J.T. Realmuto to the Phillies, Sanchez has so far lived up to the considerable hype he garnered as a prospect. Sanchez debuted in the majors last year with 39 innings of 3.46 ERA/4.18 SIERA ball and averaged just under 98 mph on his fastball. While Sanchez’s elite velocity didn’t lead to a high strikeout percentage (20.9), a 58.0 percent groundball rate helped him keep runs off the board and finish in a seventh-place tie for National League Rookie of the Year honors.

To its credit, Miami’s rotation has opened 2021 well without Sanchez and fellow righty Elieser Hernandez, who has been on the injured list since April 5 with a biceps issue. Thanks largely to Sandy Alcantara, Trevor Rogers (who threw seven shutout innings against the Orioles on Wednesday) and Pablo Lopez, the Marlins’ starting staff has notched a 3.39 ERA/3.98 SIERA through the first 17 games of the season.

Marlins Select Sandy Leon, Place Jorge Alfaro On Injured List

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The Marlins announced Wednesday morning that they’ve placed catcher Jorge Alfaro on the 10-day injured list due to a left hamstring strain and selected the contract of veteran Sandy Leon to take his spot on the roster. Miami had an open spot on its 40-man roster already.

Alfaro, 27, has gotten out to a slow start this year, slashing .229/.250/.257 with a dozen strikeouts against just one walk in 36 trips to the plate. He was removed from last night’s game against the Orioles after beating out an infield single. Chad Wallach replaced Alfaro last night, and he’ll now share time behind the dish in Miami with Leon while Alfaro mends.

Leon, 32, has seen Major League time in parts of nine seasons but has never provided much with the bat aside from what looks to be an anomalous 2016 campaign in Boston. The veteran switch-hitter posted an out-of-the-blue .310/.369/.476 slash with a career-best seven homers in 283 plate appearances that year, but Leon has mustered just a .194/.263/.306 line in 861 trips to the plate since that time. He spent the 2020 season with the Indians organization, hitting .136/.296/.242 in 81 plate appearances.

Leon may not be much of a hitter, but he’s a well-regarded pitch framer with a career 34 percent caught-stealing rate that is well above the league average. His throwing has deteriorated in recent years, including just a 2-for-11 effort in thwarting thieves last year, but Leon is regarded as a sound defensive backstop on the whole. The Marlins have yet to provide any kind of timeline for Alfaro’s injury, so it’s unclear just how long of a window Leon will have in Miami.

Neil Walker Announces Retirement

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Longtime major league second baseman Neil Walker has retired from baseball at the age of 35. Walker broke the news to Sweeny Murti of WFAN as a guest on the “30 for Murti” podcast.

A Pittsburgh native, Walker was a first-round pick (No. 11) of his hometown Pirates in 2004. Five years later, Walker made a 17-game big league debut, and he became both a regular and a consistently solid contributor beginning the next season. During a 3,386-plate appearance run from 2010-15, the switch-hitting Walker put up five seasons of at least 2.4 fWAR (including a career-high 4.1 in 2014, when he won a Silver Slugger Award) and batted .273/.338/.443 with 93 home runs.

Walker’s time with the Pirates concluded when they traded him to the Mets for left-hander Jon Niese prior to the 2016 campaign. The move didn’t work out at all for the Bucs, with whom Niese’s production spiraled, though Walker continued to perform well in Queens. He batted .275/.344/.462 and smacked 33 HRs over 757 PA in a Mets uniform in parts of two seasons, but with the team out of contention late in 2017, it traded him to the Brewers for the stretch run.

Walker didn’t re-sign with the Brewers, instead returning to New York n a one-year, $4MM guarantee with the Yankees. With a .219/.309/.354 line in 398 trips to the plate, Walker turned in his worst offensive season as a regular in 2018. He enjoyed somewhat of a bounce-back campaign the next season on a $2MM deal as a member of the Marlins, though he still had to settle for a minor league contract with the Phillies going into 2020. While Walker did make it to the majors for a 12th straight season, he struggled enough over 18 games that the Phillies designated him for assignment in September.

Although Walker had a less-than-ideal ending, he still enjoyed a far more successful and lucrative career than the vast majority of major leaguers. He’ll end with a .267/.338/.426 line, 149 homers and 21.6 fWAR/19.6 rWAR across 1,306 games and 5,152 trips to the plate. Walker also earned nearly $52MM in the bigs, per Baseball-Reference.com.

MLBTR congratulates Walker on an impressive career and wishes him the best in retirement.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Starling Marte Suffers Fractured Rib

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APRIL 19: Marte suffered a non-displaced fracture in the 12th rib on his left side, the Marlins announced. He’ll go five to seven days without baseball activities, and then the Marlins will re-evaluate him. In the meantime, he’ll head to the IL.

APRIL 18: Marlins outfielder Starling Marte left today’s game in the middle of a ninth-inning plate appearance due to what appeared to be an injury to his side or oblique area.  After the first two pitches of the at-bat, Marte grabbed at his side, and was taken out of the game after being observed by manager Don Mattingly and a team trainer.

Speaking to The Miami Herald’s Jordan McPherson and other reporters after the game, Mattingly said that Marte wanted to keep playing, but the skipper opted to be cautious.

“He’s a big part of what we do.  He’s that cog in the offense, defense, on the bases….That’s the reason to pull him out of the game,” Mattingly said.  “You don’t want to lose this guy for six weeks.  It could be a couple weeks.  It could be 10 days.  It could be five days.  We want it to be the minimum.”

While Marte will undergo further testing to determine the extent of the injury, Mattingly comments seem to indicate that the center fielder will miss at least some time, and likely make a trip to the 10-day injured list.  If the injury is indeed oblique-related, it would be the third such injury of Marte’s career, though the first two IL stints (in 2012 and 2018) didn’t keep Marte out of action for too long.

Nonetheless, any setback is an unfortunate interruption to Marte’s superb start, as he had a .310/.414/.483 slash line and two home runs over his first 70 PA of the season.  Magneuris Sierra is the most probable candidate to step into center field duty if Marte does have to miss an extended amount of time, and Miami could also call up Lewis Brinson or Monte Harrison from the alternate training site.

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