S¨¢nchez sidelined to begin season with left oblique strain

JUPITER, Fla. -- The Marlins will be without one of their most potent bats and important veterans to start the season.

A strained left oblique will cause outfielder Jes¨²s S¨¢nchez to miss the next four weeks. He'll begin the season on the injured list.

¡°It's a big piece for us,¡± Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. ¡°We were counting on him, but this is kind of next man up, and it'll be an opportunity for others to get a chance to get out there.¡±

McCullough pointed to Derek Hill, Dane Myers, Griffin Conine and Kyle Stowers as players who will see more playing time in the coming weeks.

¡°We still have plenty of options,¡± McCullough said.

S¨¢nchez, a 27-year-old left-handed hitter, sustained the injury in Thursday's 10-5 loss to Houston on a check-swing double.

He underwent imaging tests on Friday, which revealed the strain.

¡°It's like, one-plus, I'm told, kind of between a one and two,¡± said McCullough, describing the category of the strain. ¡°That's one of those areas and things that are kind of tricky to nail down. Category one, you're looking at, probably optimistically, would be like a month from now.¡±

Among the most senior members of the rebuilding Marlins, S¨¢nchez debuted in the 2020 season, seeing 29 plate appearances.

Last year, he hit .252 with 18 homers, 64 RBIs and 60 runs scored. The home run, RBI and runs scored totals trailed only Jake Burger among Marlins in 2024. All three of those totals represented career highs.

S¨¢nchez started this spring slowly, with one homer among his six hits in 32 plate appearances.

Primarily a corner outfielder, S¨¢nchez did play some center field this spring.

Treatment for an oblique strain is primarily rest. Earlier this spring, S¨¢nchez had also been dealing with right elbow inflammation.

¡°All you can do now is take the time that's required to have this thing heal up and get yourself built back up, because it's not an area in a place where you want to be too aggressive with how you come back, because we've just seen a lot of cases where those things, they can linger,¡± McCullough said. ¡°So we want to be smart on the front end to be sure you get it knocked out and have as much of the season remaining when you come back as we can.¡±

The news regarding Marlins starting pitcher Edward Cabrera is a little more encouraging.

Cabrera had a piece of his nail removed on Friday in an effort to help a blister on his finger heal quicker. He'll go a couple more days without throwing.

¡°We're optimistic that we'll be able to get Edward back into a game here before Spring Training breaks,¡± McCullough said.

McCullough didn't rule out the possibility that Cabrera could throw a simulated game prior to returning to game action.

Cabrera left Thursday's start after only 12 pitches because of the blister -- an issue that has plagued the 26-year-old right-hander throughout his career.

In four spring starts, Cabrera has posted a 25.07 ERA. He's started 20 games in each of the past two seasons, pitching to an ERA above 4.00 both years. Cabrera's 3.01 ERA in 2022 is a career best. That year, he struck out 75 in 71 2/3 innings.