Miami Marlins All-Star outfielder Kyle Stowers will start the 2026 season on the injured list due to a Grade 1 right hamstring strain, the team announced Sunday in Jupiter, Florida. Outfielder Esteury Ruiz will also miss the start with a high-grade oblique strain. Both injuries occurred during recent spring training games.
Jupiter, Fla. – The Miami Marlins announced on Sunday morning that All-Star outfielder Kyle Stowers has a Grade 1 right hamstring strain, confirmed by imaging on Saturday. The team will reassess his condition in three to four weeks. Stowers, 28, exited Friday night’s split-squad game against the Astros in West Palm Beach with tightness in his right hamstring while rounding third base in the third inning. This follows an earlier minor strain this spring; he had returned to Grapefruit League action on March 14 after building up through running progressions and back-field at-bats. Friday was only his third game back since then. In his breakout 2025 season, Stowers hit 25 home runs with 73 RBIs in 117 games, including a walk-off single on Opening Day, establishing himself as a top National League batter before a late oblique strain ended his year prematurely. Miami went 21-19 without him and missed the postseason on the final day. Marlins manager Clayton McCullough commented: “We want to get Kyle healthy. Kyle's a big part not only on the field and offensively what he brings, but then Kyle's a great teammate and has a lot of great leadership qualities. It's unfortunate... We'll be OK. We have a lot of good players, and we're going to be fine.” The team also placed outfielder Esteury Ruiz, acquired from the Dodgers in December, on the injured list. Ruiz sustained a high-grade oblique strain in Friday night’s split-squad game in Jupiter and faces a six-to-eight-week recovery as he competed for a bench spot. With both out, Miami's outfield options include Jakob Marsee and Owen Caissie as projected center and right fielders, plus Griffin Conine, Heriberto Hernández, Javier Sanoja, and Christopher Morel. As of Sunday, the Marlins had only 12 healthy position players at big league camp. McCullough added: “We'll look to see how that final spot now gets filled... We feel good about what we have.” This marks the second straight year the Marlins have lost key position players to late-spring injuries, as Connor Norby and Jesús Sánchez missed the 2025 start with oblique strains.
