Marlins lefty Braxton Garrett is behind schedule after dealing with some shoulder soreness early in camp and isn’t likely to be ready for Opening Day, manager Skip Schumaker announced this morning (X link via Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald). Garrett threw a bullpen session today but the delayed start to his throwing progression likely won’t leave him with sufficient time to be built up for the start of the season. “He feels great now, but I think it’s dangerous when you’re trying to push a guy to make an Opening Day roster.” Schumaker said.
Garrett, now 26, has emerged as a key piece of the Miami rotation over the past couple of seasons, something recently explored by MLBTR’s Anthony Franco. The lefty posted a 3.58 earned run average over 17 starts in 2022, but still found himself sixth on the depth chart going into 2023. Injuries opened a path for him last year and he made the most of that chance, eventually logging 159 2/3 innings over 31 outings with a 3.66 ERA, 23.7% strikeout rate, 4.4% walk rate and 49.1% ground ball rate.
It sounds as though the concern from the club is minimal and Garrett may just miss the first couple of weeks of the schedule. If that proves to be the case, it likely won’t have a huge impact on the club’s plans but there may also be some ripple effects.
The club’s starting depth has made the Marlins a near-constant subject of trade rumors, though there are reasons why that might now be less likely. They traded Pablo López last offseason and Sandy Alcántara required Tommy John surgery late in 2023, putting him out of commission for the entire 2024 campaign. That left the club with a rotation mix consisting of Garrett, Jesús Luzardo, Eury Pérez, Edward Cabrera and Trevor Rogers coming into this winter.
The rumors around that group continued but the club didn’t line up a deal that they liked enough to pull the trigger on. Various teams around the league are currently discovering pitcher injuries, which perhaps could have lit up the phone in the Miami front office, but they have at least some concern of their own that could perhaps tamp down their appetite for a deal.
With Garrett likely to miss some time, it perhaps opens a rotation spot for A.J. Puk. He’s been an effective reliever over the past couple of years, including posting a 3.97 ERA with a 32.2% strikeout rate, 5.4% walk rate and 44.2% ground ball rate as a Marlin last year. He’s attempting to return to a rotation role this spring, as he served as an intriguing starting pitching prospect while climbing the minor league ladder.
Spring stats are always to be taken with a grain of salt but Puk has yet to allow a run over his first two outings, tossing five innings with nine strikeouts, three walks and just one hit. He will likely face some kind of workload limit at some point since he has been working as a reliever for a while. He tossed 125 innings the minors in 2017 but then missed all of 2018 due to Tommy John surgery and hasn’t hit 70 frames in any season since.
The Marlins also have Max Meyer on hand, though he will also be looking at limitations since he sat out all of 2023 rehabbing from his own Tommy John procedure. Roddery Muñoz and Darren McCaughan are also on the 40-man roster as depth options. If Garrett eventually gets built up and everyone else is healthy, Puk and Rogers have options and could theoretically be sent down for a while to monitor their workloads, as Rogers only tossed 18 innings last year due to biceps and lat injuries.
There are lots of talented options on hand but there’s also a fair amount of questions. The free agent market still features notable pitchers even though the calendar now reads March, so the Fish could reach out if they feel they need to bolster the group. It wouldn’t be realistic to expect a signing of Blake Snell or Jordan Montgomery but someone like Michael Lorenzen or Jake Odorizzi is more plausible.
RosterResource pegs the club’s payroll at $102MM right now. That would be the highest of the Bruce Sherman era, as he purchased the club in late 2017 and Cot’s Baseball Contracts lists their payroll below nine figures in each season since then.
Perhaps the club has little appetite to add to that figure, as they seemingly made little attempt to retain slugger Jorge Soler. It had been previously reported that the club had some contact with him while he was a free agent but he recently signed with the Giants and contradicted those reports. “We never had communication during the season or after the season, so, I knew I was not coming back,” Soler said, per Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase.
Even prior to this with Garrett, I was thinking that the Marlins should bring most of their young(er) MLB-rerady arm options up with the big club, and go with a 6-man rotation, while keeping the other couple or so as long relief/spot starter/opener types. The guys I’m referring to as our pitchers are as follows:
Luzardo [SP only]
Garrett [SP only]
Eury Perez [SP only with some skipped starts or opener starts to control innings count]
Edward Cabrera [depending on control, SP, but also a pivot guy between the long relief and opener role along with starting]
Rogers [SP role, but considering pivoting role as long relief/opener options if needing to protect him]
Weathers [pivot role unless he can take control of a SP-only role]
Sixto Sanchez [pivot role unless he’s healthy and ready to be SP only for the rest of the way]
Meyer [if he’s ready to be in MLB, absolutely a pivot role to help him build back]
with this, they keep the innings down for the guys that need it, and they help build back the guys returning from injuries; and they safeguard the development of the guys that need to continue developing.
Just my thought…even before this injury situation with Garrett.
Don’t forget Puk is also being stretched.
2 Starts 5 IP, 1 H, 3 BB, 9 k’s, 0 R’s
Yes, that is another cog to the mashine. But I think he’ll be more of a 2 to 3 inning guy since they are really down to two lefties for middle relief since Scott is the Closer to begin the season.
But it is definitely something to look at.
@BannedMarlinsFanBase
Excellent assessment. We have enough quality depth. No need to be adding any costly acquisitions. Pitching is our strong suit. Let’s find creative ways to maximize it!
Yes, exactly. I’d only look at something at the deadline if we see that we need it. Until then, I stick with what we have…and not send anyone down among these guys unless they are absolutely getting ripped by MLB hitters. All of them can be utilized to help each other develop; keep their innings down; strengthen the bullpen; and also make up for the innings we lose this year with Alcantara out.
I’m not a great fan of the 6 man rotation, but the situation with the Marlins staff screams out for it. Luzardo and Perez are having a smooth spring, Cabrera has found the strike zone. Puk has been a joy with his new and revived pitches. Max has picked up where he left off and I really enjoyed watching Rogers’ return against Houston.
Weathers has been very encouraging. They will need to find a place in the bullpen for Sixto, but that feels like a very good thing.
Marlins are around 75th percentile in nice pitching stats.
I am as pleased with the pitching as I’m frustrated by position players.
Yeh, I’m not a fan of a 6-man either, but this year’s situation with the Marlins kind of puts them in a place where they need it. Luckily they have the pieces to give it a go and do well.