May 3, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Miami Marlins second baseman Donovan Solano (17) celebrates hitting a home run with third base coach Joe Espada during the fourth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

The injuries are the only thing that is adding up faster than the losses for the Miami Marlins in 2013. The team took another hit yesterday when second baseman Donovan Solano was placed on the disabled list with discomfort in his left side. Solano was a late scratch from the lineup Saturday night against the Philadelphia Phillies and has not played in the Marlins three games since. Solano was replaced Chris Valaika at second base.

Utility infielder Nick Green had his contract selected from Triple-A New Orleans, and he will join the team on Tuesday.  Nick was just designated for assignment and outrighted to Triple-A New Orleans to make room for the return of Adeiny Hechavarria from the disabled list. Henderson Alvarez could be moved to the 60-day DL to accommodate Green.

Neither Valaika (.280 wOBA) or Solano (.287 wOBA) have been playing well offensively this season. The Marlins hope that Green can continue to build on his early success (354 wOBA). Green’s numbers came in limited action, so it is doubtful he can keep those numbers up. A small improvement would still be huge for the Marlins lineup.

There is no early indication on how long Solano will be out, or the severity of his injury.

LoMo Returning to Game Action:

Still recovering from off-season knee surgery, Logan Morrison is expected back in game action later today. The Marlins will have Morrison playing in extended spring training games.

Morrison is eligible to be reinstated from the 60-day DL on May 30th, but the team and Morrison feel mid-June is a better target date to expect to see LoMo back in action with the Fish.

Morrison has not played in a major league game since last July and did not have a spring training this season, so the team does not feel the need to rush him along.

Other Injury Updates:

Giancarlo Stanton is still resting his hamstring and has not resumed any baseball activities. The Marlins are not expected to make much noise this season, so there is no real need to rush Stanton. He is still on track for a mid to late June return. Like I mentioned yesterday, Stanton should expect to return to a much improved lineup when he is healthy.

Henderson Alvarez played catch on Monday and did not feel any discomfort. Alvarez has been on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation since the eve of the season. Alvarez recently felt discomfort and was setback from an impending return. A realistic target date for Alvarez would be mid-June as well.

Nathan Eovaldi out with shoulder inflammation as well is throwing off of the mound. He is eligible to return at the end of May and is closer than Alvarez. He would likely take Alex Sanabia‘s spot in the rotation upon return.

Lastly, Jeff Mathis is close to making his debut with the Marlins Mathis broke right collarbone in the first game of Spring Training for the Marlins will play one more rehab game in Single-A before being moved up to Double-A. Mathis is elgible to come off of the 60-day DL on May 31st as well.

Apr 14, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Marlins shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria (3) throws the ball in a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Marlins Park. The Phillies won 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports

With so many players moving on and off of the DL this year, no one in the front office is using a pen on the official 40-man and 25-man rosters.  Pencils continue to be the writing implement of choice.

Starting shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria rejoins the team in Philly at the start of a 10-day road trip.  While not yet announced officially, it’s all but settled that Nick Green will be designated for assignment, and will likely throw his hat into the free agent arena.  34-year-old Green performed very well in his 8-game cup of coffee, but Hech is the long-term starter at the position.  We here at the Maniac wish Mr. Green well, and hope he lands on his feet with an organization that will give him another shot.

Hechavarria, coming off of a trip to the 15-day DL, is showing extraordinary defensive skills, but his bat hasn’t been the caliber that Green showed.  His bat started showing signs of improvement before his BP injury, so we could see him resume his progression after a game or two to get his batting eye back up to big-league speed.

Left-handed starter Brad Hand was brought up for just about the smallest cup of coffee possible, pitching in relief for 1 2/3 innings, facing seven batters with 3 Ks and two walks. He is expected to be optioned to Triple-A New Orleans and the Marlins will likely pick up the contract of journeyman outfielder Matt Diaz in order to gain a little outfield depth necessary after Stanton’s hammy pull.

Some other key DL moves coming up include catcher Jeff Mathis starting his rehab assignment at Single-A Jupiter, and Logan Morrison staying on track for a 1 June start to his season.

Apr 16, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Marlins shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria (3) connects for a three run home run in the fourth inning against the Washington Nationals at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Starting in the spring, and continuing through today, the Marlins have lost some key pieces of what was already being called one of the least competitive tams in the 2013 MLB field. Long lines at the team sick bay are merely rubbing salt in the fan’s wounds.

Today, the Marlins announced that starting shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria, one of only a couple of Marlins to have hit a home run this year, would be making a trip to the 15-day DL to nurse an elbow contusion back to health. The trip is dated April 17^th, for those fans looking for when we can expect the elite defensive skills of Hech back to the lineup. Outfielder  Nick Green’s contract was selected to replace him on the 40-man for the time being.  Nick was one of the last guys booted out of camp, and he had a terrific spring.  Now is his chance to prove himself to Red.

The other player at the medic’s office is Nathan Eovaldi, whose shoulder inflammation seems to be persistent enough that his 15-day DL trip has expired, so he’s been moved to the 60-day.  Right now, he’s tentatively projected to return sometime in June.  Given three rough starts by LeBlanc and a doozy by Sanabia, the former Dodger can’t get healthy soon enough.

There is a silver lining to the cloudy news of the day.  SuperSlugger Giancarlo Stanton took a few hacks in BP yesterday, with no discomfort in the shoulder he bruised during a diving, rolling, highlight reel catch.  The bruise had him scratched for a few days, as he had difficulty raising his arm far enough to even pull on a shirt.

The successful BP means that he is on track to return to the lineup for tonight’s tilt against the Reds in Cincinnati. Let’s hope that the shoulder roll knocked the yips out of his bat at the same time.

Injuries have reached down to the minor leagues this year, and reports are filtering in that top prospect Marcell Ozuna is back in business, and that Christian Yelich and Jake Marisnick are not far behind.  The sooner they get healthy, the sooner they complete their apprenticeships.  Their skills, like those of tonight’s starter Jose Fernandez, are needed.

Mar 19, 2013; Jupiter, FL, USA; Miami Marlins starting pitcher Jacob Turner (33) throws during a spring training game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Jacob Turner got the locker tag today, the Marlins announced.  A lack of command and struggles keeping his pitches down in the zone means that the 21-year-old will start his season in AAA New Orleans.

All indicators at the start of camp pointed to Turner being a fixture in the rotation this season. But without the big-league level consistency that is necessary to be able to be effective for five and six innings, the Marlins didn’t have much choice.  Kevin Slowey is likely to step into his slot in the rotation while he works out the kinks in the minors.

Left-hander Dan Jennings was also optioned to the Zephyrs this morning. Giving up six earned runs in eight innings of work was too much to stay in camp.

The remaining roster moves were all reassigned to minor league camp.  Third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff was in the running to be a utility guy, but with Polanco looking like he’ll bee hitting in the cleanup spot behind Stanton, Kooz’ window is apparently closed.  Nick Green was another potential utility infielder, but a .250/.318/.300 slash line wasn’t enough to seal the deal. Long shots Matt Downs  and Jordan Brown were also sent to the Minors this morning, also after a disappointing spring at the plate.

The only pitcher sent to minor league camp this morning was lefty Zach Phillips, who pitched 6 1/3 innings this spring, giving up nine hits and three earned runs.

There are 32 players left in camp as of this morning’s moves.  Look for some more late arrivals this week.

Mar 9, 2013; Melbourne, FL, USA; Miami Marlins second baseman Chone Figgins (1) against the Washington Nationals during a spring training game at Space Coast Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

The Miami Marlins announced today that they have released veteran utility man Chone Figgins.  A long-time pal of Juan Pierre, Figgins is an 11-year MLB guy whose performance inexplicably fell off of a table in Seattle.  Going 8 for 26 with 6 RBI in 11 games wasn’t enough to earn a roster spot.  Cutting Figgins brought the roster to 42, with a little over two weeks of spring training left.  It’s probably reasonable to expect the last two cuts to be the toughest decisions to make. While he brought the same  stabilizing/mentoring experience to the clubhouse as Pierre, he simply didn’t have the defense or the wheels necessary to offset the age and mileage.

It’s tough to speculate who else will be trimmed off of the 40-man roster in the next two weeks.  A quick poll of the Maniac staff ( I had to actually get up from the massage table here at Marlin Maniac HQ and head down to the executive Writer’s Bar to get my answers…the lengths we go to for a story!)  shows Austin Kearns (.071 and 10 strikeouts) and Chris Valaika (.200 and 5 SO) as being the most likely headed to the unemployment office.

On the lighter side of the game, the warm weather here in Jupiter, plus the 5-mile proximity to the Gulf Stream, has prompted Steve Cishek and Nick Green to take up a little extracurricular activity.  Based on Cishek’s Twitter feed, it looks like a few of the boys have been blowing off steam with rod and reel instead of club and ball.

Here are a couple of pics from the promising closer (reportedly working on a changeup as a treat for the lefties he’ll face this season).  Gotta admire Chris Hatcher’s rod holder ingenuity: