Injury Report: Miami Marlins suffer chinks in their armor

After I proclaimed the Miami Marlins healthy going into Spring Training last week, we immediately heard our first bad news of the season.  Carter Capps underwent an MRI on his right elbow, and then scheduled a followup with renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews.  Unfortunately, the results of Capps' followup were not good.  It was determined that he suffered a season ending UCL tear and will undergo surgery today.  Aside from Capps, other nagging injuries plague the team.  Below are a few updates:

A.J. Ramos

Ramos has yet to pitch in a Spring Training game due to a sprained right calf.  This is not a situation to be concerned with, as the Marlins are just being cautious to make sure Ramos is fully recovered before his debut.  Due to Capps' injury, Ramos is set to take on the closer role in 2016.

Jarred Cosart

Cosart had an injury scare this week after colliding with Martin Prado:

Jarred Cosart was shaken up after being toppled over by Martin Prado on a play at third. Staying in game. #Marlins

— Joe Frisaro (@JoeFrisaro) March 4, 2016

At the end of the inning, Cosart was taken to the trainer to determine if he had any ligament damage in his right knee.  Luckily, it was found that he only had minor bruising.

Christian Yelich

Last April, Yelich landed on the DL due to back issues.  Here is a quote from manager Mike Redmond at the time of the injury, courtesy of the Miami Sun Sentinel:

"We're not sure what's going on there. We'll get him checked out and hopefully it'll be just a short-term thing."

Unfortunately, it appears that Yelich's back issues are still lingering:

Yelich was given day off from being on field. felt some back stiffness from Monday game. day to day #Marlins

— Joe Frisaro (@JoeFrisaro) March 2, 2016

We will see soon enough if this is a recurrent problem, or just a minor setback.

Giancarlo Stanton

On Monday, Stanton did not make the trip to play the Washington Nationals in Viera due to a sore right knee. This will be his second straight game missed.  Here is a quote on Stanton's situation directly from manager Don Mattingly courtesy of the Miami Herald:

"He came in [Sunday] with a little soreness in his knee.  At that point, we're like `OK, I'm not taking him [to Viera]... I'm not going to be too concerned, I guess obviously we pay attention to it. It's sore for a reason."

This report is particularly concerning because Stanton had arthroscopic surgery on the same knee in 2012 to remove bone and cartilage fragments.   Currently, there are no plans for an MRI but if the soreness persists it may be necessary. Since 2012, Stanton has found it difficult to stay healthy.  He will need to find a way to avoid the disabled list in 2016 if the Marlins are going to have a successful season.

Concluding Thoughts:

There is a lot to process here.  Although minor setbacks are common in Spring Training, it is concerning to see Stanton and Yelich suffering from injuries they have had in the past.  Even more concerning is that both of these players have been injury-prone over the last few seasons.  Hopefully, these are not recurrent injuries that will continue to nag them.

Obviously, the big injury news this week is Capps' UCL tear.  This injury leaves a major hole in the bullpen.  The Marlins will either need to hope that someone within the organization steps up, or search for help via trade.