4:30 p.m. update: A recent prank involving two of the Marlins top position prospects has left one of them needing surgery after a knife wound, the injured player's agent said today.
First baseman Josh Naylor accidentally injured outfielder Stone Garrett's thumb with a knife in what the Marlins described as a prank that went wrong. The two players are teammates at Class A Greensboro.
Naylor was suspended one game by the Marlins, according to MLB.com. Garrett required three stitches and was placed on the isabled list on Saturday.
Garrett's agent, Larry Reynolds, released a statement on Tuesday that Garrett "will have surgery on his thumb to repair damages he sustained from a knife wound last week. Stone sustained this injury when a teammate initiated a prank in which Stone was not a willing participant. The injury was not a result of horseplay of any kind. Also, the two players are not roommates as previously reported. It is our hope and expectation that Stone will have a successful surgery and recovery so that he can resume playing baseball in the very near future."
The surgery, scheduled for later this week, will repair a severed nerve in the thumb.
Naylor, the Marlins' first-round pick in last June's draft, is hitting .262 with seven homers and 36 RBI. Garrett, selected by the Marlins in the eighth round in 2014, is batting .244 with five homers and 15 RBI.
Before the season, ESPN's Keith Law ranked Garrett and Naylor as the Marlins' No. 4 and 5 prospects, respectively.
DOLPHINS NEWS
Dolphins offensive coordinator Clyde Christensen made this clear on Tuesday: This team is going to play fast. Sometimes, that will mean no-huddle. Other times, it will mean quick huddles at the line of scrimmage. Sometimes, when game situations call for it, play-caller/coach Adam Gase and Christensen will slow things down.
Regardless of the pace, this coaching staff wants the opponent on its toes. And Christensen said the Dolphins offense will play up-tempo the majority of the time.
“Even in the up tempo, there are still different levels of up-tempo,” Christensen said. “Some of them will be extremely fast paced. Some of them will be a huddle at the line of scrimmage where we've got plenty of time. One of the big things is, you do want to change pitches. You want to have your fastball and a change-up.
“Just keep pushing the pace and a lot of it is it gives our quarterback some time at the line of scrimmage so all of them don’t get snapped with 22 seconds left on the clock. That’s not necessarily the intention. You want them to have to defend right from the get-go. Now your quarterback might have a chance to get us in the right play. One of the reasons we’re at the line of scrimmage is the tempo, for the conditioning, and for the advantage based part of it where it looks like it’s going to be fast and then all of a sudden we can get into a play we want to get into.”
Any concern about having the Dolphins’ defense on the field a lot if the Dolphins offense plays fast but has a lot of short possessions?
“It is always a concern,” he said. “If you are going to go up tempo we have to convert first downs. The time of possession tended to be high with what we’ve done, both in Chicago and Denver and Indianapolis. We tended to be good at it and possess the football.
"There is no offense that is good [with a lot of] three and outs. Doesn’t matter what tempo you are. There will be times you don’t want to be up-tempo. Overall we want to be up-tempo. We want to keep attacking. I think it will be the same on defense and special teams.”
The Dolphins already are practicing fast in OTAs but Christensen said “we would expect the speed to get faster and faster. One thing about this offense, it’s hard to prepare for defensively. It’s hard to prepare for offensively, if you’re not used to it.
“To go no-huddle --- the heat, all those things. There’s no willing yourself into doing that. You just got to play your way into shape. This is rapid fire. We’ve got to be in the best shape and we’ll demand defenses to be in the best shape when we play them. There is no short-cut on that. We’re not where we need to be. But everyone’s got a vision of what that’s got to be. When we really get this thing, we ought to be able to run all day and keep coming out you. That’s part of what we’re trying to sell.”
• Christensen’s impressions of Ryan Tannehill: “He’s learning. He’s an extremely bright guy. He’s a fast-minded guy. He has picked it up extremely quickly, faster than I would have said a guy could. He has worked his tail off. I had to tell my wife I’m coming home late. Couple nights, I feel guilty I’m leaving and he’s still here. I’ve had to change our dinner hour back a little bit. I’ve felt kind of guilty leaving before the quarterback.
"He’s been really good. I’ve seen [the accuracy] improve. He has worked hard on his technique.... [Speaking of quarterbacks in general,] if you can’t throw it accurate in this league, it’s going to be hard to be successful.”
• Christensen on rookie seventh-round quarterback Brandon Doughty: "I have been impressed how quick he has picked it up. He doesn’t get rattled; doesn’t run around like a chicken with his head cut off. He may not do everything perfectly, but he has a grasp of what’s taking place. I have been impressed with Brandon."
And what about Logan Thomas? "Logan is such a physical specimen," Christensen said. "His accuracy is starting to come. It still has to keep coming... One problem we do have is we’ve got five of those [quarterbacks]. You don’t get a ton of reps."
• Christensen said rookie first-round guard Laremy Tunsil "has been really really impressive. He has one of those demeanors that he doesn’t get out of whack easily. He’s slow and steady. He’s very, very, very impressive, every bit what we thought he was. Has a chance to be exceptional. He pays attention. He doesn’t make the same mistake over and over." (Our Adam Beasley will have more on Tunsil later.)
• On DeVante Parker missing time in the past week with an undisclosed health issue that the team insists is nothing significant: "It’s never good to miss practice because it’s new stuff. It’s speed. It’s getting in shape to do this. We need people practicing. We’ve got to have guys who practice. We need him out there as quick as possible."
• Among the things that have impressed Christensen: "First chance for me to see [Mike Pouncey]. Just been impressed with what a pro he is. Veteran Pro Bowl player. Your center comes out and works every day at his craft. That’s been very impressive. Him and Ryan are veteran guys that work like rookies. They practice like little things are important."
• Christensen said Gase "goes fast" in teaching his offense and "gets bored quickly....Gase has a creative night and comes in with a couple new things."
• Couple other notes: Jamil Douglas said he has been getting time at tackle, right guard and center... Superagent Drew Rosenhaus added to his stable of Dolphins clients by signing Walt Aikens. Vance Joseph said he sees Aikens developing into a quality safety.
Twitter: @flasportsbuzz
Comments