Despite playing in only his first full season last year, Logan Morrison has quickly become on of the fan favorites on the Miami Marlins. And it's no surprise that fans love him; he's a charismatic, goofy young player that crushes homeruns and has one of the most active, free-wheeling Twitter accounts in baseball. It's nigh impossible to root against him.
So the recent news that Morrison is experiencing lingering discomfort in his right knee comes as a bit of a downer:
Logan Morrison's right knee took a beating in 2011 - from a bad cut that required five stitches to two separate collisions against outfield walls.
But nearly two months after the season ended, the Marlins' left fielder said the knee is still sore and he wonders if he might need surgery to get it right.
Morrison, who battled tendinitis in the knee most of 2011, said he planned to meet with a doctor this week to determine why he's still feeling discomfort. (Joe Capozzi, Palm Beach Post)
Odds are that whatever is causing Morrison problems will be easily fixable and won't cause him to miss time in the beginning of the season; it sounds like a relatively mild (although nagging) injury, and it's not as though Morrison has gone easy on himself since the end of the season. He's been working out at the Marlins' spring training facility multiple times a week, and he went on a barnstorming trip to Taiwan.
It will be interesting to see what the doctor says after meeting with Morrison, if for no other reason than any perceived injury could impact his trade value this offseason. Numerous teams have expressed interest in Morrison ever since the Marlins reprimanded him for his Twitter account use, and the Tampa Bay Rays seem particularly interested in the young slugger. The Marlins wanted James Shields in return for Morrison early this offseason, but the Rays will likely want to trade Wade Davis or Jeff Niemann instead.
Here's hoping this injury is as easy to fix as Morrison thinks it will be. The Marlins are a better team with a healthy LoMo...and baseball is a lot more fun with him around.