The biggest success a team can find in spring training is getting through the month-plus grind with most of its key players healthy.

For the 2026 Miami Marlins, that won’t come to pass, as it was announced that Kyle Stowers, the club’s All-Star representative last season, will start the season on the injured list with a grade-1 right hamstring strain. In what was a breakout 2025 season for him, the former top prospect hit .288/.368/.544/.912, slugging 25 home runs in the process. Limited to all of 117 games, one can only think the Marlins, winners of 79 games, could have found themselves securing a wild card spot had Stowers been more readily available.

The club’s depth will be tested, too, as it was later announced that Esteury Ruiz would be out 6-8 weeks with a left oblique strain. Acquired in the offseason as a potential bench piece and late-game pinch-runner, Ruiz struggled this spring, hitting .129 with a .446 OPS across 41 plate appearances but also five steals.

Not committing to one player, Marlins manager Clayton McCullough noted the roster’s versatility as a potential strength.

“We feel like we have enough players that can play multiple spots and can move pieces around.”

One player who could see time out there is Connor Norby, who started in left field on Saturday, homering in his second plate appearance. The questions around Norby have largely centered on his defense, and suffice to say, those concerns weren’t quelled when he dropped a line drive in Saturday’s 7-4 loss to the Cardinals.

The club’s swiss army knife last season, newly minted World Baseball Classic champion Javier Sanoja, is a likely candidate, as well,m. He saw parts of 35 games in left, appearing at eight different positions overall. Sanoja’s effort would be rewarded with the National League’s utility player Gold Glove Award.

Let’s not forget Griffin Conine, who has shown above-average defense and raw power in parts of two seasons. Conine would go back-to-back with Norby in Saturday’s loss. 

Heriberto Hernández could find himself playing more than initially expected in the wake of Stowers’ injury. The 26-year-old posted a batting line 16 percent better than league average in a part-time role in his debut 2025 season, finishing 13th in NL Rookie of the Year voting.  Signed with the intention of being the club’s primary first baseman, Christopher Morel has 164 games of outfield experience in his four seasons in the Major Leagues, grading out rather poorly at minus-16 DRS. 
 

The Game at Hand

Sandy Alcantara, set to extend his franchise record as he makes his sixth Opening Day start this coming Friday, Todd the slab for the club’s Grapefruit League finale, allowing three runs over 4 2/3 innings pitched in Miami’s 4-3 walk-off win over the division rival New York Mets.

Prior to a three-run top of the fourth, Alcantara had set down the first nine Met hitters faced, including strikeouts against Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, and Luis Robert Jr. It would be the former two who would start New York’s rally in the top of the fourth.

Miami finishes its spring training schedule 11-13. 

“Nice to end on a winning note,” said McCullough.

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Speaking on how he feels for the start of the season, Alcantara noted the confidence he has in both himself and the team as a whole.

“Last year, it wasn’t my best year, but I think about it from a positive…I finished strong, finished healthy, I threw 170-plus innings, but you just forget what happened last year, be here today and be out there during the season.”

Alcantara struggled in his first year coming off Tommy John Surgery, posting a career-worst 5.36 ERA. 

Amid the news of the Stowers injury, a feel-good story came out of Marlins camp this weekend, as it was announced that Andrew Nardi had made the Opening Day roster. Nardi, who missed all of 2025 with lower back inflammation, owns a career 4.51 ERA in parts of three seasons. In five appearances this spring, the Tennessee native struck out nine, allowed just one hit, and didn’t allow a single run.

“I feel like I’m back in 2023 again when I was told I made the Opening Day roster for the first time. I’m just excited to get going,” reflected a smiling Nardi. 

That 2023 season saw Nardi establish himself as one of the better left-handed relievers in the sport, posting a 2.67 ERA over his 57 1/3 innings pitched.

 

Not Talked About Enough

If the Marlins want to take continued steps forward, suffice to say their forward progression is predicated on how they fare against left-handed pitching. The club’s collective .656 OPS against southpaws last season ranked 24th. Even the Colorado Rockies, fresh off a 119-loss season, finished at .679.

The biggest offenders here are two of the better position players on the team last season, in Otto López and Xavier Edwards. Among the 57 players with at least 175 plate appearances against lefties in 2025, López and Edwards ranked worst and second-worst at .521 and .564, respectively. 

While we’re not making much of spring training statistics, López has hit .333 with an .833 OPS in a limited, six-plate-appearance sample. Edwards, on the other hand, has seen his struggles carry over into the new year, as he’s hit .091 across 11 such plate appearances.

 

Looking Ahead

The next time the Marlins take the field, the 2026 regular season will be upon us, as they’re set to open the year at home against the Colorado Rockies on Friday, March 27.

As noted, Sandy Alcantara will take the ball in his franchise-record sixth Opening Day start. Opposing him, Kyle Freeland will start for Colorado.

First pitch from loanDepot park is slated for 7:10 EST.