Marlins' Pérez strains muscle stretching in dugout, out 8 weeks

Eury Pérez was just trying to stay loose between innings. Instead, he'll be sitting down for an extended period.

The Miami Marlins placed the right-hander on the 15-day injured list Friday with a right gracilis muscle strain that he sustained while stretching in the dugout during Wednesday's start against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Television cameras caught Pérez trying to stay limber while his team hit in the top of the fifth inning at Rogers Centre when he suddenly grimaced and sat down. Fellow pitcher Sandy Alcantara had to help Pérez down the steps and into the clubhouse.

"I was just having a conversation with our pitching coach and suddenly I felt tightness right there in my leg and I couldn't get up," Pérez said through an interpreter Wednesday, according to MLB.com's Christina De Nicola. "I would say on a (pain) scale from 1-10, I would give a 10. It was very painful. I knew I was not going to be able to go (back) out there."

Imaging taken Thursday revealed the injury to his gracilis, a long leg muscle located near the inner thigh. He's now facing an absence of approximately eight weeks, according to Mike Fitzpatrick of The Associated Press.

"We know it's a young pitcher that still had a lot of experiences to gain from just getting the chance to take the ball at the major-league level every fifth or sixth day," Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. "So, that's kind of the most frustrating part is, you sense a little bit that maybe this was a player that was starting to get on a little bit of a roll, put some things together, and now he's obviously going to have to miss a significant amount of time."

The bizarre injury concluded an eventful Wednesday in Toronto for Pérez. A few minutes before getting hurt in the dugout, the 23-year-old appeared to exchange words with Blue Jays manager John Schneider after hitting Kazuma Okamoto with a 97-mph sinker.

Pérez, a onetime top prospect, has dealt with numerous injuries since reaching the majors in 2023. He missed the entire 2024 season following Tommy John surgery and has yet to make more than 20 starts in a single season.

The Dominican Republic native owns a 4.60 ERA, 4.63 FIP, and 1.26 WHIP with 72 strikeouts and 28 walks across 62 2/3 innings in 2026.

Pérez's injury further depletes the 26-31 Marlins' rotation, which has already lost both right-hander Adam Mazur and No. 2 prospect Robby Snelling to season-ending elbow injuries. Top prospect Thomas White may be a potential option to replace Pérez; other choices could include Bradley Blalock, Braxton Garrett, or Dax Fulton, who are on the 40-man roster.

Miami recalled reliever Josh Ekness from Triple-A Jacksonville in a corresponding move. The team also reinstated infielder Leo Jiménez from the seven-day concussion IL and optioned Graham Pauley to Jacksonville.