Stowers Adds Value to Marlins by Playing First Base

The Miami Marlins have plenty of talented outfielders. 

What they don’t have are Major League first basemen.

The Marlins signed Christopher Morel, shifted Connor Norby from third to first base, and even gave Liam Hicks some reps while maintaining his place in the lineup. Morel is batting .162 with a .425 OPS in 68 at-bats, and Norby (.664 OPS, 4 HR, 11 RBI) is only slightly better. 

This is how Kyle Stowers is trending towards becoming more valuable this year than last season. The Marlins tested him out at first base to encouraging results. Stowers has committed one error in 47 innings so far this season. Putting him at first base allows the Marlins to give outfielders Heriberto Hernandez, Esteury Ruiz, and Owen Caissie more at-bats, while keeping Stowers in the lineup. 

Stowers was the Marlins' only All-Star last season and a National League Gold Glove finalist in left field last year. Mastering first base should be an obstacle too high for Stowers. 

“I believe I'm a very, very good outfielder,” Stowers told MLB.com. “I take a lot of pride in my defense, but that being said, I feel like I could be a solid first baseman as well.”

Stowers missed much of the first month of the season due to a hamstring injury, and thus, it’s taking a little longer for his bat to return to where it was during his breakout 2025 campaign, where he hit 25 home runs with a .912 OPS. He’s currently slashing .211/.297/.362 with five home runs through 50 games this season. 

That injury, plus the reality of the Marlins outfielders playing on turf, prompted Stowers to consider the idea of playing both positions, leading to more sustainability on the field. 

“Maybe it's just a way that down the road, potentially this position can be something that actually helps me and keeps me on the field more,” Stowers said. 

Stowers also said learning first base, a position he had not played since his college days at Stanford, is still “a work in progress.” He is learning from Norby’s example, “Try to treat it like recess.” 

“It's not going to be an overnight thing,” Stowers said. “As it becomes more normal, there'll be fine-tuning things as well. So I’m just enjoying the process.”

Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said during a recent press conference that Stowers being able to play first base allows him to pinch hit an outfielder and move him over to keep him in the lineup. 

“How much he ends up starting down the road, we'll see,” McCullough said, “but don't feel like there's any loss in Kyle going out there and continuing to get some reps in and be prepared if it's a start or if it's things within a game that just make the most sense for us to use everyone we have on the roster.”

After falling 7-0 to the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday, the Marlins (36-37) will try to rebound on Tuesday with Tyler Phillips (1-1, 1.86 ERA) on the mound against former Marlins starter Jesus Luzardo (5-4, 4.35 ERA). 

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