A bizarre joke with a knife injures Miami Marlins outfielder prospect Stone Garrett. Teammate Josh Naylor is upset after injuring his pal.
In one of the strangest stories you will read, Miami Marlins prospect Stone Garrett will require thumb surgery to repair damage done as part of a knife prank.
Called an “unwilling participant”, Garrett received the injury from fellow teammate, Miami’s 2015 first-round draft pick, Josh Naylor. The extent of the injury suffered over the weekend and how the it occurred remains private. Instead Larry Reynolds, Garrett’s agent, said in a statement that the wound “…was not a result of horseplay of any kind.”
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Garrett, the eighth-round selection by the Marlins in 2014, is in his first season of full season A ball for the Greensboro Grasshoppers of the South Atlantic League. At age 20, he has a slash line of .244/.303/.450 in 35 games with five homers and 15 RBI playing left field. How long he is out for is anyone’s guess.
Naylor, 19, is hitting .262 with seven homers and 36 RBI on the year. A first baseman, the Marlins grabbed him out of St. Joan of Arc Catholic SS out of Mississauga, Ontario with the 12th overall pick last year. A first baseman, Naylor shows good speed with eight steals out of 10 and gap power with 12 doubles and two triples.
Considered good friends, Garrett received three stitches after Naylor’s prank went bad. A further examination of the thumb led to surgery. Initial reports of the two being roommates were unfounded.
Miami’s President of Baseball Operations Michael Hill said this about Naylor:
"“Naylor has a reputation of being a bit of a prankster, but this one obviously went too far. Obviously he’s torn up about it.”"
Garrett has yet to comment.
In a story making any parent of bored teenagers cringe, no public suspension of Naylor has been announced. Pranks happen all the time, part of breaking the long monotony of life in the minor leagues. We hear of hijinks at fast-food joints or with beer, but knife play, even in jest, is not common. We hope.
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Safe to say with the publicity that hopefully everyone has learned their lesson.