Graham

Pauley

It appears to be nothing more than a routine night off for the 25-year-old outfielder. Agustin Ramirez will function as the designated hitter for the Marlins on Thursday while Liam Hicks functions behind the plate, opening a spot in the lineup for Graham Pauley to draw a rare start at first base. He’ll bat ninth against Walker Buehler and the Phillies on Thursday.

Pauley returns to Miami’s infield mix after missing exactly one month recovering from a right oblique strain. The 24-year-old has batted .229 (32-for-140) with four homers, 11 RBI and two steals over 54 games this season in his Marlins debut.

Graham Pauley (oblique) will kick off his rehab assignment on Wednesday night. Norby is working his way back from a quad strain that put him on the shelf last week. The 25-year-old figures to be back in Miami’s lineup by the end of the week.

Pauley had his best stretch as a major leaguer earlier this month, going 6-for-16 with three homers and four walks in a seven-game span, but he’s hit just .229/.310/.371 in 159 plate appearances overall. He might be optioned to the minors once healthy, since Connor Norby will likely beat him back from the injured list.

After falling behind 2-0 after one inning, the Marlins stormed back to score five times in the second — the last two on Pauley’s 352-foot (92.4 mph EV) two-run shot off of Carlos Carrasco. That would be his only hit in three at-bats on the night though. For the season, the 24-year-old infielder is hitting .226/.292/.363 with three homers and 10 RBI in 139 plate appearances with the Marlins.

The 24-year-old infielder opened the scoring in the contest with his 384-foot (103.0 mph EV) two-run shot off of Sonny Gray in the second inning. That would be his only hit in two at-bats on the night, but it played a crucial role in the Marlins’ victory. For the season, he’s now hitting .224/.288/.318 with one homer and seven RBI through his first 119 plate appearances.

The Marlins originally said Norby was simply dealing with wrist inflammation, but clearly that wasn’t the case. The 25-year-old is expected to miss six to eight weeks recovering from the injury, which would put him on track for a mid-September return. Given that the Marlins aren’t in contention, there’s a chance Norby doesn’t make it back to the big leagues this season. Graham Pauley will get the first crack at the third base job for the Marlins, but the team may give a chance to Deyvison De Los Santos, who has played seven games at third base in Triple-A this season.

Pauley joins Miami’s infield mix ahead of Sunday’s first-half finale against the Orioles with Connor Norby heading to the injured list with wrist inflammation. The 24-year-old infielder got into 28 games earlier this season with the Marlins, batting .210/.261/.284 with zero homers and five RBI across 89 plate appearances.

The 24-year-old infielder was slashing just .210/.261/.284 with zero homers, five RBI and a 21/6 K/BB ratio in 89 plate appearances with the Marlins. They’ll make a corresponding move prior to Friday’s game which could be the highly-anticipated return of Xavier Edwards.

Javier Sanoja will be on the bench, and Otto Lopez will shift to shortstop. This is Pauley’s second straight start, and he’s getting a chance to carve out some playing time with Xavier Edwards sidelined. It won’t put Pauley on the fantasy radar, but the added versatility could increase his chances of remaining on the roster when Edwards returns, provided Pauley can start getting some hits.