Devastating injury news for Marlins will undoubtedly boost Reds' playoff chances

If any team in the hunt for the NL Wild Card knows a thing or two about critical injuries down the stretch, it's the Cincinnati Reds. David Bell's crew is currently without Hunter Greene, Jonathan India, Ben Lively, Fernando Cruz, Joey Votto, Nick Lodolo, and a whole host of others.

But as bad things are in the Queen City, the Miami Marlins were just dealt a massive blow to their playoff hopes. According to Craig Mish of the Miami Herald, two-time All-Star and last year's Cy Young Award-winner Sandy Alcantara has been placed on the 15-day IL with a right forearm flexor strain.

But, bad news for the Marlins is good news for the Reds. There are currently three teams chasing the Reds for that third and final Wild Card spot in the National League, and the Fish will certainly be hurting without the services of their ace for the next few weeks.

Devastating injury news for Marlins will undoubtedly boost Reds' playoff chances.

While Sandy Alcantara's numbers aren't as good as they were a season ago, there's no denying the talent that exists in his right arm. Alcantara is in the upper echelon of pitchers in the National League with 151 strikeouts over 184 innings of work.

The Marlins will also be without slugger Jorge Soler. The Cincinnati Reds found out firsthand how explosive the slugger can be during Miami's visit to Great American Ball Park earlier this year. Soler's 35 round trippers rank fifth in the NL this season. Two of Soler's five hits in that series with the Reds were home runs.

The Cincinnati Reds do not have much margin for error down the stretch. But, according to Tankathon, the Miami Marlins have the 5th-most difficult schedule over the next few weeks while the Reds have the 6th-easiest. Miami has upcoming matchups against the Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers, and Philadelphia Phillies.

Losing both Sandy Alcantara and Jorge Soler will be two devestating losses for the Marlins. But it will certainly help the Reds prospects of securing that final playoff berth. The San Francisco Giants have lost five straight and the Reds maintain the tiebreaker over the Arizona Diamondbacks. It's going to be very interesting down the stretch.