Marlins Notes: Myers, Pauley, Stowers, and Norby

Kyle Stowers, an outfielder with the Marlins, has been out for about a month because of a side strain. He started a rehab assignment at the Triple-A level on September 5. Sadly, that game on September 5 was his last one before he hurt his right oblique and had to sit out. Kevin Barral of Fish On First says that manager Clayton McCullough told reporters yesterday that he isn't "exactly sure" how long Stowers will be out, adding that a definite timeframe might not be available until Stowers has had a few more days of rest.

There are only a few days remaining in the regular season, and the Marlins are nine games behind in the Wild Card race, so it looks like Stowers's 2025 season may be over. McCullough said the same thing yesterday when he told reporters, including Barral, "We know where we are in the calendar." It's still impossible to call Stowers's first full season as a Marlin anything other than a huge success, even if it's really finished. The 27-year-old became a key player for Miami this year, hitting 288/.368/.544 with 25 home runs, 21 doubles, and 3 triples in 117 games. Stowers got an All-Star nod for this, and he will definitely be a part of the team's outfield next year as well.

The Marlins gave MLB.com a lot of updates on other injured hitters today, but they didn't talk about Stowers. Today, infielder Graham Pauley started a rehab assignment at Triple-A. He is recovering from an oblique strain he got last month. On the other hand, infielder Connor Norby and outfielder Dane Myers will both start their rehab assignments tomorrow. Norby had to sit out because of a quad strain just a few days ago. Myers has been absent since the end of August because of an oblique strain of his own.

Pauley is enjoying the greatest season at the bat of the three. That's not saying much, though, since the left-handed utility player has only 159 plate appearances in 54 games with the big league Marlins this year and is hitting .229/.310/.371. On the other hand, Norby's numbers have only gotten a little worse since he started playing more regularly. This year, he has hit .247/.298/.373 in 295 plate appearances, even though he has been hurt, including a hamate fracture that needed surgery in July. After the surgery, he looked a lot better, but his hot streak ended after just five games because of the quad injury I mentioned before. Myers, who is 29 years old, has only hit 233/.292/.325 in 99 games this year, but he has stolen 17 bases and played great defense in center field.

If none of them have problems as Stowers had, all three should be back before the end of the year. While Pauley and Norby have been sidelined, Maximo Acosta, Xavier Edwards, and Javier Sanoja have played second and third base together. Otto Lopez has played shortstop. It looks like Pauley and Norby are going to get their time back in the hot corner; thus, that group will probably have to spend most of their time playing in the middle. Jakob Marsee has passed Myers on the depth chart in center field, but he might still be useful off the bench or in the outfield corners.