The Miami Marlins placed speedy All-Star second basemen Dee Gordon onto the disabled list with an dislocated left thumb. He suffered the injury last Saturday while sliding head-first into first base to beat out an infield hit. The team acquired Gordon during the offseason in a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
While Gordon was placed on the disabled list, the team welcomes back Martin Prado, who is returning from a right shoulder sprain that kept him out since June 15. Prado suffered the injury when he tumbled while running out a grounder.
This season for the Marlins, in 84 games played, Gordon has a batting average of .338 with 1 HR, 22 RBI, .359 OBP, 46 runs, and 33 stolen bases. He leads the National League in hits this season with 122. He has been a bright spot in the Marlins' offense this season with his many base hits and stolen bases. He is not getting a lot of home runs, but he is not the type of player that hits for power. He just gets good hits and gets on base.
There is a lot to like about Gordon; he is one of the fastest base runners in the Majors. There is a reason why teams expect him to steal a lot of bases. He is just that fast. Gordon is also a great contact hitter who can get on base. He is a guy who will hit with a lot of contact and lead to many runs scored. His speed will give his team over 20 stolen bases every season.
On the Marlins' side of this, the team will be missing a lot of offense in Gordon. With All-Star player Giancarlo Stanton already on the disabled list, this injury could have not come as a worse time for the Marlins. Sure, the Marlins are having a losing season, but those two are the biggest providers of offense that the team has. The team is going to miss the speed that Gordon brings to the base paths and the contact he makes to get there.
On the Gordon side of things, this is an injury from which he will recover quickly and find himself back in the lineup in a few weeks. Depending on whether or not there are setbacks in the rehab, once he gets back into top shape he will be the same player that he is now. It might take him a while to get his swing back, but there is a good chance that his speed will still be there. It all depends on how fast he can rehab from this injury.