Miami Marlins Morning News: Derek Dietrich Avoids Serious Injury Again

Pitching depth has been the problem for the Marlins and is more then ever the issue especially after Bryan Morris went down and the bullpen blew the lead against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The reason that is the top story for the Marlins is because Derek Dietrich is made of steel.

On Sunday, Dietrich was hit by a line drive foul ball off the bat of Christian Yelich that found its way into the Marlins' dugout, ricocheted off the back of the wall and hit him in the back of the head. On top of that, Dietrich took a pitch of the wrist Wednesday and was immediately taken out off the game to be examined. In both cases, Dietrich got lucky or just showed us he his not human.

Dietrich does not back down while in the batters box as he leads the Marlins and is currently tied for the NL lead in hit by pitch with nine. Only Brandon Guyer of the Tampa Bay Rays has more with 15.

It appears the Marlins and Dietrich have avoided injury that would cause a hole at second base and a depth issue. The Marlins' bench currently consists of Miguel Rojas, Cole Gillespie, Jeff Mathis, Ichiro Suzuki, and Chris Johnson. If Dietrich goes down, it's hard to see Rojas, Gillespie, or a combination of the two combining for the numbers Dietrich has put up. He is hitting .312 with three homers and 22 RBI in 138 at-bats. In May, Dietrich has hit .333 with seven doubles and 14 RBI for the month. In comparison, Gillespie and Rojas have a combined zero home runs and are hitting .233 and .250, respectively.

Dietrich is not an All-Star or the caliber of Dee Gordon, but he is an above average replacement and has helped the Marlins move into third place in the NL East.

News from around the NL East

Phillies add Cody Asche to 25 man roster.

Nationals call up prospect Trea Turner.

Braves activate Jim Johnson from disabled list.

Mets place David Wright on disabled list.