Miami Marlins center fielder and MLB stolen base leader Emilio Bonifacio will have surgery on his left thumb today and is expected to be sidelined four to six weeks. The speedster has been out since last Friday after sustaining the injury when diving back to first base in a game against the Reds.
Bonifacio had swiped 20 bases in 21 attempts, and had a .268 batting average. 26-year-old Bryan Petersen will take over for Bonifacio as the team’s starting center fielder; however, he will receive competition from Chris Coghlan.
Also landing on the disabled list was outfielder Austin Kearns, an injury that prompted the call-up of Kevin Mattison from Triple-A.
Miami stands at 24-21 on the season, and will play the second game of a four-game set against the San Francisco Giants tonight at 7:10 P.M. Eastern.
