Miami Marlins to send down Braxton Garrett. Their options to replace him
The Miami Marlins are optioning left-handed pitcher Braxton Garrett to Triple A Jacksonville, a source confirmed to the Miami Herald after the team’s 8-4 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday.
The move comes after a pair of abbreviated starts for Garrett, who missed all the 2025 season after undergoing UCL revision surgery in his left elbow and began this season in the minor leagues. Overall, he has pitched 4 1/3 innings in his two appearances and given up seven runs on seven hits and eight walks with five strikeouts.
On Tuesday, Garrett needed 65 pitches to get through three innings against the Braves. He allowed a pair of runs in a 31-pitch first inning before getting through the second and third unscathed. He left with the Marlins leading 4-2, but the bullpen gave up six runs over the final six innings.
This came after Garrett gave up five runs on four hits and five walks over 1 1/3 innings in his return to the big leagues on Thursday at Minnesota.
“A little bit better, but still not good enough,” Garrett said postgame Tuesday of his performance. “Obviously want to throw some more innings there, keep the pitch count a little bit lower, but I made a nice mechanical adjustment going into the second that really kind of synced me up, so I can take that away.”
This move once again leaves the No. 4 spot in the Marlins’ rotation — a group that includes Sandy Alcantara, Eury Perez, Max Meyer and Janson Junk — in flux.
Chris Paddack, who Miami signed to a one-year, $4 million deal in the offseason, had the role to begin the season but was designated for assignment after posting a 7.63 ERA over 30 2/3 innings in seven games (six starts).
Then the spot was given to Robby Snelling, Miami’s No. 2 prospect who made his MLB debut on May 8 but is on the 15-day injured list with a left elbow UCL sprain. He is scheduled to see Dr. Keith Meister in Arlington, Texas, for further evaluation on Thursday.
And then it was Garrett, who was looking to re-assert himself in the big leagues after posting a career 4.03 ERA over 65 games (63 starts) from 2020-2024 before being sidelined for the 2025 season. He didn’t break camp with the big-league club, starting the season in Triple A. He posted a 2.30 ERA in six starts in the minor leagues, striking out 32 and holding opponents to a .102 batting average over 31 1/3 innings of work, before getting called up. Now, he’s sent back down.
Who will take his spot in the rotation is unclear. Miami doesn’t need a fifth starter until Sunday when it wraps up this seven-game homestand, so the team can add an extra reliever in Garrett’s place until then.
Pitchers available in Triple A on the 40-man roster include Cade Gibson, Josh White and Bradley Blalock. Josh Ekness, Dax Fulton and William Kempner — three pitchers the Marlins have recently called up and optioned back to the minor leagues — have to stay in the minor leagues for a minimum of 15 days before returning to the MLB level unless the Marlins place a player on the injured list. Kempner (optioned on May 6) could be recalled no earlier than Thursday, Fulton (optioned on May 7) no earlier than Friday and Ekness (optioned on Thursday) no earlier than May 29.
Ryan Gusto, an option to be a stop-gap starter or swingman in the bullpen, threw seven innings on Saturday for Triple A Jacksonville.
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