Graham

Pauley

Pauley had been limited to DH duties by forearm tightness. He’s hitting .231/.344/.346 over 31 plate appearances this spring and he’s come in at .207/.284/.358 in 216 major league plate appearances to date, but it looks like the Marlins might make him their third baseman against right-handers. There just isn’t much reason to suspect he’ll be a long-term solution there.

He’s hitting .310/.326/.476 in 43 plate appearances. Since the Marlins seem to have big plans for Graham Pauley for some reason, Norby started in left field for the second time today. He’s also played first base twice. We’re not sure Norby is really cut out to be a regular third baseman, either, but moving him further down the defensive spectrum only makes it less likely that he’ll be helpful. Assuming that Pauley is healthy — forearm tightness has limited him to DH duties thus far but he’s expected to play third base on Sunday — the two might just wind up platooning initially, with Pauley facing righties and Norby starting against lefties.

Pauley came into spring training as the favorite to win the starting third base job, but he was sidelined early on with forearm tightness. His MRI came back clean, and he took time to rest and recover. He has been throwing for a while but was limited to DH duties in games, going 6-for-22 in eight games so far. He is now able to take part in defensive drills and throw to bases, and the Marlins hope he will play the field in a game this weekend. It remains to be seen if that will give him enough time to beat out Connor Norby for the starting job.

Pauley has not yet appeared in a spring training game, and now we know why. The 25-year-old is battling Connor Norby for at-bats at third base, and this will undoubtedly have him starting from behind.

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.