Streaking Marlins walloped by star pitcher Alcantara, leading slugger Soler going onto injury list
In a sobering one-two punch of injury news, the surging Miami Marlins placed defending National League Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara onto the 15-day injury list and the team’s leading power hitter, Jorge Soler, onto the 10-day shelf.
The Marlins announced the moves on their social media channels.
Alcantara, who turns 28 on Thursday, has a strained right forearm flexor. He has had moments of brilliance in 2023, but they have been offset by a number of rough outings as he has fashioned a 4.14 ERA and a 7-12 record. Things, however, had ticked upward recently, with the righty going 4-3 in his past eight starts with a 2.93 ERA.
General Manager Kim Ng said Alcantara felt discomfort toward the end of his 94-pitch, eight-inning outing against the Nationals in Washington D.C., on Sunday.
Soler has arguably been the team’s most valuable player, hitting .240 with 35 home runs and a .842 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, with a number of his round-trippers tying the score or giving the Marlins a lead.
His injury, sustained during Tuesday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, was described as an oblique strain.
Miami (71-67) headed into its Thursday night game against the Dodgers as the winner of five games in a row, and was a half-game behind the Cincinnati Reds for the third and final wild-card spot in the NL.
The Marlins also announced that they were recalling outfielder Dane Myers and right-handed pitcher Edward Cabrera and selecting left-hander Devin Smeltzer from Triple-A Jacksonville.