Following today’s game, the Marlins announced that outfielder Griffin Conine suffered a dislocated left shoulder and is currently undergoing further evaluation and treatment. Conine is almost certainly going to have to spend some time on the injured list.
While a more specific timetable for Conine’s injury will not be known until he has been fully evaluated, it is expected that he will miss significant time. Dislocated shoulders frequently necessitate a recovery period of months rather than weeks, and severe dislocations may necessitate surgery, jeopardizing the remainder of Conine’s 2025 campaign.
Trevor Story, Shohei Ohtani, and Jung Hoo Lee are among the players who have recently undergone surgery for a separated shoulder. Ohtani’s partial dislocation required only arthroscopic surgery, and he was ready for Spring Training three months after the procedure.
Story’s surgery in April of last year was also to correct a partial dislocation, but it was expected to end his season, though he returned to the majors in late September after a five-month absence. Lee, on the other hand, suffered a complete dislocation in May, forcing him to miss the rest of the 2024 season.
Regardless of how long Conine is missing, the 27-year-old will be frustrated by the situation. Conine, a second-round pick by the Blue Jays in 2018, was traded to Miami as part of the Jonathan Villar deal and made his Major League Baseball debut late last year.
Conine has looked like a solid contributor in 49 big league games since his promotion, hitting.273/.338/.441 (116 wRC+) and earning the starting left field job for the rebuilding Marlins.
That day job was supposed to be a very effective proving ground for Conine, giving him plenty of time to earn either a long-term job as a regular in Miami or even the attention of rival clubs as a potential trade piece, but all of that is now on hold for the foreseeable future.
The Marlins, who were already short on outfield depth after Derek Hill was sidelined with a sprained wrist earlier this week, will be tested even further. Jesus Sanchez and Dane Myers are currently sharing center field, with Kyle Stowers serving as a regular in right field.
That would leave Sanchez, Myers, and utilityman Javier Sanoja to mix and match in left field as needed from the club’s current outfield options, though a bat will undoubtedly be called up to replace Conine on the roster in due time.
Victor Mesa Jr. is already on the 40-man roster and could be called up to share time in center with Myers, pushing Sanchez to left, or a non-roster veteran, such as Albert Almora Jr., could have his contract selected from Triple-A to help fill out Miami’s outfield depth.
Another potential x-factor for the Marlins could be top outfield prospect Jakob Marsee, who was acquired from San Diego in the Luis Arraez trade. Marsee has looked good in 18 games at Triple-A this season and could easily transition into an everyday outfield role for Miami, but it’s unclear if the club would be interested in bringing the 23-year-old to the majors (and starting his service time) without seeing a larger body of work at Triple-A.
Marsee is also not yet on the 40-man roster and would necessitate a corresponding 40-man move, though Conine’s extended absence would resolve that issue via the 60-day injured list.
