MIAMI (AP) — Mike Stanton’s first season as a cleanup hitter is off to a slow start, so he has been dropped to sixth in the Florida Marlins’ batting order.
The demotion is temporary and designed to help Stanton shake a slump that manager Edwin Rodriguez attributed to rust. Stanton missed much of spring training with a strained right hamstring, and he missed six starts early in the season with a strained left hamstring.
Stanton began a homestand Tuesday batting .194, with no homers and 11 strikeouts in 31 at-bats.
Rodriguez said Stanton has been looking for a pitch in one place, and his plate coverage is not broad enough. But the Marlins still have high hopes for the young slugger, who hit 22 homers in 100 games as a rookie last year.
