Martin Prado hurts hamstring at WBC

The Marlins don’t know yet the severity of Martin Prado’s right hamstring strain — suffered Wednesday night while he was playing for Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic — but they do know it’s late enough in spring training that even minor injuries are more significant.

“It’s getting there. It kind of gets to that area where now the injuries are different,” manager Don Mattingly said earlier this week. “If a guy gets hurt now, you kind of think you don’t have time to recover. It gets to be that area where you’re hoping you don’t have any weird stuff now.”

Now the Marlins have some weird stuff, with Opening Day a little over two weeks away.

Prado got hurt during Venezuela’s 4-2 loss to Team USA in the second round of the WBC in San Diego. He traveled to rejoin the Marlins in South Florida on Thursday, and he will undergo tests today.

Prado got hurt running out a ground ball.

Losing Prado — who has played at least 143 games in four of the past five seasons — for any stretch of time would be a blow to the Marlins, who signed him to a three-year, $40 million contract in the fall.

If Prado has to miss the start of the season, who is likely to fill in at third base? Here are a few options, listed in approximate order of likelihood:

Derek Dietrich: The Marlins’ utility man already has a spot on the 25-man roster, and he was Dee Gordon’s primary replacement at second base last season when Gordon sat out with an 80-game suspension. Dietrich hit .303/.396/.442 in the first half in 2016, but only .233/.331/.392 in the second half.

Miguel Rojas: Like Dietrich, Rojas is a utility guy who can play third and is a ready-made fill-in. Rojas is more defensively minded than Dietrich, so if the Marlins are seeking offense from Prado’s replacement, Rojas is not likely to be the starter. J.T. Riddle: The Marlins’ No. 13 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, Riddle is a safe bet to take Prado’s roster spot, even if Dietrich or Rojas get the playing time. Riddle, 25, is already on the 40-man roster. He has mostly played shortstop in the minors, but he also has experience at third and second. The Marlins have been happy with Riddle this spring — after he put on 15 pounds of muscle over the offseason.

Riddle hit .278/.332/.368 for Double-A Jacksonville last season, which ended with a 15-game stint with Triple-A New Orleans.

Yefri Perez: Perez has minimal experience at third base, but like Riddle he could get the roster spot and play all over the place. The Marlins are high on Perez, who is very fast and spent part of last September as a designated runner, as a super-utility type of player.

Matt Juengel: Juengel is older (27) and more experienced (.263/.325/.431 in 110 games with New Orleans last year) than Riddle, but has the disadvantage of not being on the 40-man. As a non-roster invitee, Juengel has had a strong Grapefruit League showing, hitting .318 with a .423 OBP in 22 atbats.

Brian Anderson: Anderson would be a longshot to break camp with the Marlins, but he’s worth noting if only because he is the organization’s top positionplayer prospect (No. 3 overall in the system, per MLB Pipeline) and has had a good spring (9 for 27, one homer, four RBI).