Caissie (calf) will begin rehab assignment Tuesday

Caissie had been swinging in the cage without an issue but has now progressed to on-field batting practice. The next step would presumably be facing live pitching before potentially beginning a rehab assignment. Those rehab games could start as soon as next week, and he could be back in Miami by the middle of August if all goes well.

Caissie should be cleared to start a rehab assignment sometime in the next week assuming no setbacks. He was expected to miss 2-4 weeks when he was placed on injured reserve on July 9, so he should be back in late July or early August.

Caissie left yesterday’s game with calf tightness, so this wasn’t a major surprise. Caissie will likely be out longer than the baseline 10 days. This will give Griffin Conine more consistent at-bats against right-handed pitching in Miami’s platoon lineups. Caissie was hitting .239/.297/.459 in 246 plate appearances and should get his starting spot against right-handers back when healthy.

It sounds like a precautionary move since Caissie was replaced by Griffin Conine in right field to open the second inning. The 24-year-old rookie has hit .239/.297/.459 with 12 homers, 50 RBI and four steals in 246 plate appearances over 79 games in his Miami debut. He’s delivered borderline top-50 value among fantasy outfielders this season.

Ruiz has now been on the bench for two straight games as Heriberto Hernandez, Owen Caissie, and Jakob Marsee start in the outfield. This was always part of the risk when Griffin Conine came back from the injured list and filled the designated hitter spot. It seems like Ruiz will be limited to mostly starting against left-handed pitchers and pinch running for the time being.

It would be easy to say that it’s because the Rangers are starting a left-handed pitcher, but Tyler Alexander is just the opener for Kumar Rocker. Caissie has hit .171/.265/.439 in 15 games in Juene with three home runs and 11 RBI, but a 30.6 percent strikeout rate. With Griffin Conine returning on Sunday, the Marlins DH spot is full, so Caissie, Jakob Marsee, Heriberto Hernandez, and Esteury Ruiz will have to split time between the three outfield spots. Hernandez has a 160 wRC+ in June, and Ruiz has a 242 wRC+ in just 39 plate appearances, but has earned more time. That may mean more days off for Caissie.

Caissie has now homered in back-to-back games for the Marlins and has three homers in the month of June. The lefty got the best of Giants starter Landen Roupp in the first inning to put the Marlins up 1-0, and later doubled off Roupp in the fifth inning to drive in Javier Sanoja to put the Marlins up 2-1, and would come up big again in the seventh inning when his sacrifice fly again drove in Sanoja to put the Marlins up 4-3. For a player who entered the day slashing .091/.189/.303 in the month of June, Friday’s 3-for-3 should serve as a bit of a confidence booster for Caissie. While it’s an encouraging sign, there’s still a lot for Caissie to figure out and the Marlins decision to limit him against lefties puts a hard cap on his fantasy upside.

The rookie’s homer gave Miami a 3-2 lead in the second that they wouldn’t surrender, one of two they hit off Andrew Painter in the matinee. The former Cub was acquired in last offseason’s Edward Cabrera trade, but he has struggled with a strikeout rate over 40%. The Marlins are even limiting his opportunities against lefties as he has started against only two so far in 2026. There’s long-term power upside in his bat, but he isn’t ready to be a reliable fantasy contributor regardless of league size.

Caissie ambushed a first-pitch splitter from Tobias Myers for a 397-foot (103.4 mph EV) two-run blast that tied the score at 7-7 in the eighth inning. That would wind up being the extent of the Marlins’ offense in the game though. The 23-year-old outfielder finished the night 2-for-5 with a pair of runs scored and is now hitting .232/.286/.399 with five long balls and 28 RBI on the season.

Caissie takes a seat against Blue Jays reliever Spencer Miles with Kyle Stowers moving over to right field. The 23-year-old former top prospect has shown some signs of life recently, hitting .270 (10-for-37) with two homers, 11 RBI and two steals over his last 15 games. He’ll need to show some additional consistency before fantasy managers in shallow mixed leagues are encouraged to consider rostering him.