Miami Marlins Must Cast Wide Net, Get Creative In Search For Stowers Replacement

With Kyle Stowers on the shelf for a month, the Miami Marlins have some big shoes to fill.

However, once filled, it would be extremely shortsighted for the Marlins organization to think those shoes necessarily have to end up in left field.

After all, there seems to be little concern that Stowers won't return. Once he does? He's right back in his spot in the Marlins lineup and outfield alike, albeit with perhaps a few more games spent at DH in May than he would have done otherwise. So why bother adding an outfielder at all? Miami has a glut there even after losing Stowers and Estery Ruiz, especially if you include some of the names down on the farm in those calculations.

No, the best path forward for the Miami Marlins is to make the greatest impact possible with any move they make in terms of replacing Stowers' impact on the roster these next few weeks.

At any position on the roster.

That means taking a hard look at the corner infield market. That could mean seeing if there's an upside arm to shake lose for the bullpen. Maybe that means getting aggressive and putting Robby Snelling or Deyvision De Los Santos on the Opening Day Roster. Or if they really do feel Joe Mack will need significant time down on the farm working on his swing, go get that outfielder- but get one that will become the regular DH when Stowers returns. Everything should be on the table for Peter Bendix and the Marlins front office here. This is the time for outside the box thinking.

Obviously, it's also not a time for panic. It's just a few weeks. Every cliche about it being a long season applies here. Yet so does every cliche about the games in April counting just as much as the games in September in the standings...and it is a brutal April that the Marlins are facing once the White Sox leave town. The Marlins aren't in an overpay situation by any means, but they do need to do something. And that something probably shouldn't just be calling up the oldest AAA player to hang out for a month, or at least until service time games are finished with the top prospects.

In short, signing a journeyman outfielder would be the easiest thing in the world for the Marlins. So would calling up one of the relievers that came up short in the Opening Day roster race and carrying an extra pitcher for a couple weeks.

But why not add someone that has a chance to stick on the roster all season? Why not do what your All-Star left fielder won't be doing for awhile and swing for the fences?

Here's hoping the Marlins do just that.