Marlins outfielder Griffin Conine out with long-term injury

Barry Jackson, Miami Herald on Apr 20, 2025

Published in Baseball

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MIAMI — Outfielder Griffin Conine, who was off to a very good start in what was expected to be first full big league season, has sustained a significant shoulder injury that will keep him out long term.

Conine was placed on the 60-day injured list on Sunday. He will undergo more tests on Monday and a decision will be made about whether surgery is necessary.

At this point, it’s too early to tell if he will miss the remainder of the season. But at the very least, he will miss substantial time.

Conine, 27, dislocated his left shoulder while sliding into second base on a two-run double in Saturday’s 11-10 loss to Philadelphia. The play happened when the Marlins were trailing 9-1 in the sixth inning.

“It’s unfortunate that that happened, because that’s what this guy does: He only knows one way to play,” manager Clayton McCullough said. “Unfortunate there, he’s going in for the hustle double, and he just kind of hit the ground a little awkwardly.”

Conine, son of former Marlins standout Jeff Conine, was hitting .281 with a .352 on base average, with seven doubles, one homer and seven RBI in 20 games.

During his six years in the minors, Conine put up big power numbers (128 homers in 585 games), but there were questions about whether he would have big league success because of his high strikeout rate. But Conine had largely dismissed those concerns and was one of the team’s pleasant surprises during their 8-12 start.

He has batted .274 in 50 big league games (including 30 last season), compared to .244 in the minors.

What’s more, per Statcast, Conine entered Sunday as the only player in baseball this season with multiple five-star catches, which are plays made on balls with a zero to 25 percent catch probability.

“The play has been superb on both sides of the ball,” McCullough said. “You know what you’re going to get from him every single day. He brings a lot of intangibles on top of the fact that he’s played excellent defense in left, and offensively, he’s been a real force for us.”

With Conine sidelined, the Marlins will use Jesus Sanchez, Kyle Stowers, Dane Myers, Javier Sanoja and new addition Ronny Simon as their outfielders. Derek Hill is on the injured list with a sprained wrist.

The switch-hitting Simon, who was promoted from Triple-A Jacksonville to fill Conine’s roster spot, was off to a torrid start in Triple-A, hitting .354, with a .441 on-base average, with one homer and nine RBIs in 15 games.

He hit .283 (.356 on base) with 30 doubles, 10 homers and 56 RBIs for Triple A Durham last season.

The 5-8 Simon, who was signed by the Marlins to a minor league deal last November, has primarily played second base in the minors but started 40 games in left field last season.

The Marlins made two other roster moves Sunday: Pitcher Patrick Monteverde was designated for assignment and left-handed pitcher Cade Gibson, the Marlins’ 10th round pick in 2022, was promoted to the big league team.

In his Triple-A debut this season, Gibson had a 5.40 ERA in 10 innings over four games, all out of the bullpen.

Monteverde allowed nine hits and four runs in 3 2/3 innings against the Phillies on Saturday in his major league debut.

Mervis’ rise

First baseman Matt Mervis entered Sunday tied for 11th in baseball in home runs with six. But he entered Sunday’s game in Philadelphia in an 0-for-9 slump, dropping his average to .224 and on-base percentage to .305 on base.

The Marlins’ acquisition of Mervis from the Cubs, in exchange for Vidal Brujan, has been a success so far.

Mervis had regressed after leading the minors with 119 RBIs and 78 extra-base hits in 2022. He was rated a top-five MLB first base prospect soon after.

The Marlins weren’t deterred by the fact that Mervis hit 18 for 116 (.155) with 40 strikeouts in 127 plate appearances in his brief big league career, covering 36 games. They weren’t deterred that he produced underwhelming numbers at Triple-A last year: .235, 15 homers, 43 RBIs, 105 strikeouts in 81 games.

“He has a history of performing really well,” Marlins president/baseball operations Peter Bendix said recently when essentially asked why he thought Mervis was worth pursuing. “He struggled through some spins in the big leagues. went up and down.

“It’s very difficult for players to establish a foothold in the big leagues. It happens at different times in their career for everybody. The hope was maybe a little bit of a fresh start, some new voices and tap into the potential that we know was there.”

Mervis leads the Marlins with 12 RBIs.