Marlins leave injured Starling Marte off NLDS roster

The Miami Marlins confirmed that they won't have center fielder Starling Marte available when they open their National League Division Series versus the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday afternoon. 

As ESPN's Bradford Doolittle wrote, the Marlins left the 31-year-old off their NLDS roster while he recovers from the left pinkie fracture he suffered in the ninth inning of Game 1 of Miami's wild-card showdown with the Chicago Cubs. Cubs reliever Dan Winkler inadvertently plunked Marte with a pitch that has sidelined the outfielder since last Wednesday. 

Marlins manager Don Mattingly originally said he hoped Marte could field and/or pinch run but not hit while carrying the injury, but Mattingly changed his tune ahead of Tuesday's series opener against Atlanta. 

"We weren't comfortable with what [Marte] was going to be able to do," Mattingly explained. 

The 24-year-old Magneuris Sierra replaces Marte in center field for Tuesday's outing. Across 19 games during the pandemic-shortened campaign, Sierra hit .250 with seven RBI. 

Miami acquired Marte from the Arizona Diamondbacks ahead of the Aug. 31 deadline. In total, he hit .281 over the campaign with six home runs, 27 RBI, 14 doubles and 10 steals. 

Marte's availability beyond the NLDS, if Miami gets past Atlanta, was unknown as of Tuesday afternoon.