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Apr 24, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; A detailed view of a Miami Marlins hat and glove in the dugout before a game against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Miami Marlins Place All Star on IL

Originally posted on Stanford Cardinal on SI
By Jason Burke | Last updated Aug 17, 2025 9:00 AM ET

Miami Marlins All Star outfielder Kyle Stowers is headed to the IL with a Grade 1 strain in his left side according to Christina De Nicola of MLB.com. The timeline for his return isn't known just yet, but the expectation is that he'll be out "at least several weeks." There are roughly six weeks left in the MLB regular season, so the hope here is that he'll be back before the end of the year.

The injury (again from MLB.com) reportedly was felt after the second swing of his first at-bat against the Boston Red Sox on Saturday. He doubled on the next pitch, driving home a run for the Marlins. The tightness didn't get worse throughout the course of the game, but it also didn't go away, either.

Stowers has been having a breakout year for Miami this season after being acquired by the club at last year's Trade Deadline. The 27-year-old former Stanford Cardinal was selected with the 71st pick of the 2019 MLB Draft by the Baltimore Orioles, and moved to Miami in exchange for left-hander Trevor Rogers. Connor Norby was also sent to the Marlins in the trade.

This season, Stowers has hit .288 with a .368 OBP and 25 home runs across 117 games played. This is easily the most consistent playing time that he's received in his career, and he's certainly made the most of it.

Arguably the most impressive stat we can point to is his .912 OPS, which ranks seventh in all of baseball. With the Los Angeles Dodgers having two of the players ranked ahead of him (Shohei Ohtani at 1.018 and Will Smith at .927), only five teams across the league have a hitter as good as Stowers over the course of the full season.

Even if you limit the number of plate appearances to qualify to just 300, only two new names--the A's Nick Kurtz and Boston's Alex Bregman--slot in above him. Stowers has been having a special season, and there is a chance that his year could help lure more talent to Miami in one of a couple of ways.

The first would be to sign some players on both sides of the ball. Given ownership's reluctance to make a splash in the free agent market in previous offseasons, that may be a little more tricky.

But perhaps the season that Stowers has produced will give the Marlins front office a reason to go trade for a bat and a couple of arms. The Marlins are 58-65 on the season and have gone just 2-8 in their last ten, which includes a current three-game losing streak.

Still, they've shown fairly recently that they are much better than predicted, and with a few improvements, they could legitimately contend for a postseason spot. In theory, the Washington Nationals will be on the rise before long, and the Atlanta Braves have been struggling with injuries for two years now. There is never going to be a perfect time to make a move, so may as well dive in this offseason.

This article first appeared on Stanford Cardinal on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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