Notes: Update on Dickerson; Curtiss returns
JUPITER, Fla. -- Marlins left fielder Corey Dickerson was out of Thursday night's Grapefruit League lineup with a sore left shoulder. According to manager Don Mattingly, Dickerson should be ready to return on Friday. Adam Duvall took his place in left, with Garrett Cooper starting in right.
The discomfort stems from a diving catch Dickerson made to rob the Astros' Taylor Jones of a hit during the fifth inning on Sunday. Per the 940 WINZ AM broadcast, Dickerson raced into shallow left on the play, and after securing the ball and sliding into the grass, he took off his glove as he crouched in the outfield. Teammate Starling Marte waved off a trainer, as Dickerson remained in the game and singled in the bottom half of the frame. He then played six innings on Monday, going 0-for-2 with a walk as the leadoff batter. That is the last time he has appeared in a game.
"It was more medical today," Mattingly said during a Zoom call. "I think Corey would have felt like he was ready to go. They just asked me to give him another day to be sure. Being cautious is something that obviously right now you want to be. But I feel good about where he's at and pretty confident that he's going to be right back out there. So without actually saying he's going to be in the lineup tomorrow, I feel pretty good about where he's at. It was really more about giving him that one extra day."
Per Mattingly, Dickerson wasn't scheduled to start on Tuesday, and the club decided to give him an extra day with Wednesday's "B" contest on a back field. The plan was to pencil him in as the designated hitter on Thursday if everything was good. Dickerson, who projects as the Opening Day left fielder, is 9-for-35 with four runs, two doubles, one walk, three strikeouts and one stolen base in 13 games.
"I'm not going to push that envelope," Mattingly had said. "I feel like he's ready to go. He's been swinging good, he's got plenty of at-bats at this point, and we can still push at-bats, we've still got games that we can do that with. Just a little kind of nicked up, but being careful as much as anything."
Curtiss returns to game action
Another Marlins player on the mend was right-hander John Curtiss, who allowed one run on one hit with two strikeouts and one hit batter in Thursday's ninth inning.
The 27-year-old righty had last appeared in a game on Saturday, when he took a Hernán Pérez line drive off the foot. After an injury delay, Curtiss remained on the mound and struck out Carter Kieboom looking. Acquired on the first day of camp in a trade with the Rays, he is a candidate to pitch multiple innings in outings for the Marlins' revamped bullpen this season. Curtiss has made six spring appearances, giving up two runs on four hits with two walks, two hit batters and eight strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings.
"[He] was sore the next day, but was able to do everything," Mattingly said on Wednesday. "He was full-go [Tuesday], threw a little touch and feel. We gave him an extra day just to make sure that he wasn't trying to push through something, but he's back to 100%."
Alternate training site news
121 Financial Ballpark, the home of Triple-A Jacksonville, will serve as the alternate training site for the Marlins once Spring Training concludes. In accordance with MLB protocols, a group of 20-28 players not added to Miami's 26-man Opening Day roster will report to Jacksonville to continue preparation for the Major League and/or Minor League season.
Used during the 2020 MLB season, the alternate training site provides a secondary location within close geographic proximity of each MLB club for players to safely train, and if necessary, be promoted to the Majors. Per MLB rules, only players at the alternate training sites are eligible to be called up to the Majors in April. Last year, the Marlins' site was in Jupiter, which is the organization's Spring Training home and low Class A affiliate.
Marlins Park and Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium are 83.5 miles apart, according to Google Maps, with 345.8 miles between 121 Financial Ballpark and Marlins Park.
Up next
Left-hander Trevor Rogers, a strong candidate for the Opening Day rotation, will make his final Grapefruit League start at 6:05 p.m. ET on Friday against the Astros at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. He will face Houston for the fourth time out of five spring outings.