A key Marlins pitcher won’t be ready for Opening Day. What that means for the rotation
Braxton Garrett had just finished throwing his fourth bullpen session of spring training on Tuesday. The crafty left-handed pitcher said he felt good and that his arm has been recovering much better than it had earlier in camp when he was dealing with shoulder soreness.
“I’m starting to feel normal again,” Garrett said.
But at this point in spring training, and with Garrett’s throwing progression still barely taking off, reality has sunk in.
Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said Garrett, who found himself as the the No. 2 pitcher in the Marlins’ rotation by the end of the 2023 season, is unlikely to be on the roster when Miami begins the season on March 28 against the Pittsburgh Pirates as he continues his build up.
“He feels great now,” Schumaker said, “but I think it’s dangerous when you’re trying to push a guy to make an Opening Day roster.”
Garrett said he is “accepting” of where things stand, adding that his goal for now is “being where my feet are and trying to stack good days.”
“Once we get back in game action,” Garrett said, “[I want to] be sure that we’re good going forward.”
When the shoulder soreness began
Garrett said he had been dealing with minor shoulder soreness throughout the offseason but wasn’t concerned about it because he said his shoulder generally takes a little while to bounce back when he restarts his throwing program.
The soreness, however, lingered into camp and persisted following his first bullpen session in Jupiter.
Garrett has thrown three bullpen sessions since then with minimal issues.
“I’m in a much better spot than when I showed up,” Garrett said.
But, Garrett acknowledged, he still has a ways to go before game action. He will need to throw at least one more bullpen session before progressing to facing live hitters. Generally, starting pitchers go through at least two rounds of live batting practice before getting into games.
Garrett’s importance to Marlins rotation
The Marlins are counting on Garrett to be one of their workhorses in the rotation this season, especially with ace Sandy Alcantara sidelined for the season while recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Garrett, 26, began the 2023 season as Miami’s long reliever but ended up as one of the Marlins’ most consistent starters.
In 31 games (30 starts), he went 9-7 with a 3.66 ERA and set career highs in innings pitched (159 2/3) and strikeouts (156) while holding opponents to a .250 batting average against and 1.15 walks and hits per inning pitched.
Garrett pitched at least five innings in 23 of his 30 starts and held opponents to two earned runs or fewer in 16 of those 23 outings.
Where the rotation stands
With Garrett not expected to be on the Opening Day roster, what does that mean for the Marlins’ rotation, at least to start the season?
Jesus Luzardo and Eury Perez are both essentially locks to make the rotation. Luzardo has already been named Miami’s Opening Day starter.
Beyond them, Miami’s other main options are righty Edward Cabrera and lefties A.J. Puk, Ryan Weathers and Trevor Rogers. Prospect Max Meyer could be an option as well, but he is returning after missing all of 2023 following Tommy John surgery. Swingmen Bryan Hoeing and George Soriano are other contenders further down the depth chart.
“It’s great to have them in general,” Garrett said of the Marlins’ starting pitching depth.
.JPG)