SEATTLE -- The news on the Griffin Conine front was bad to start for Marlins fans Friday, with the team announcing that he would be visiting with Dr. Neal ElAttrache on Monday when the team goes to Los Angeles to get another opinion on his dislocated left shoulder.
It didn¡¯t take long for the news to get worse, though, and the follow-up came as the Marlins began their series opener against the Mariners: Conine will indeed visit ElAttrache on Monday, but he¡¯s already scheduled for surgery Tuesday. The meeting with the specialist is just to determine the exact operation Conine will undergo.
Because the Marlins don¡¯t know yet what exactly Conine will need done, there isn¡¯t a timeline on his return yet.
The 27-year-old outfielder hurt his shoulder in the sixth inning of the Marlins¡¯ 11-10 loss to the Phillies last Saturday while diving into second base. The next day, the club placed him on the 60-day injured list. He underwent an MRI last Monday.
Through 20 games, Conine was hitting .281 with seven doubles and a .790 OPS.
In the three games following Conine¡¯s injury, the Marlins rolled out three different left fielders: Javier Sanoja, Kyle Stowers and Ronny Simon. Friday, a fourth face joined the line, with Eric Wagaman going out to left field for his first big league start in the outfield. Wagaman, whose 10 starts in the field this year had all come at first base, started 38 games between the two corner outfield spots in the Minors last season.