The Marlins have lost one of their most productive bats for at least the next stretch, placing Kyle Stowers on the 10-day injured list Tuesday afternoon with a left hamstring strain.
To fill the opening, Miami recalled Graham Pauley from Triple-A Jacksonville.
Stowers’ exit from Sunday’s game was hard to miss. After lining a two-run single in the fifth inning, he came up limping as he rounded first base and grabbed the back of his left leg. The Marlins initially called it left hamstring discomfort, and now the issue has sent him to the IL.
It’s the second hamstring-related setback of the season for Stowers. He began the year on the 10-day IL with a Grade 1 right hamstring strain and did not make his season debut until April 19, following a five-game rehab assignment with Jacksonville.
Before this injury, Stowers had been giving Miami real production in the middle of the lineup. Since June 1, he had hit 13 homers with an .867 OPS and 41 RBIs in 57 games.
The Marlins had been using him as their regular first baseman since mid-June, a move designed to keep Heriberto Hernández, Griffin Conine, Owen Caissie and Liam Hicks’ bats in the lineup while also managing Stowers’ legs.
With Hicks no longer around after the Deadline trade with the Rays, the Marlins now have a few options to cover first base. Conine, Pauley and Leo Jiménez could all be in the mix while Stowers is sidelined.
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