While the Marlins enjoyed an encouraging season in 2025 with a 79-83 record that put them on the periphery of playoff race relevance, the club is nonetheless still engaged in a multi-year rebuilding effort. This offseason, that meant trades of controllable rotation pieces in order to bring more young talent into the system. Right-hander Edward Cabrera was dealt to the Cubs for a package headlined by outfielder Owen Caissie, while lefty Ryan Weathers was shipped to the Yankees in return for a package of four prospects. Those departures from the rotation mix would be damaging to any team, but the Marlins are in position to weather the losses thanks to their exceptional pitching depth. Sandy Alcantara and Eury Perez both have ace-level ceilings at the front of the rotation. The Marlins believe Max Meyer is ready to take the step into full-time rotation work after parts of three seasons in the majors, and veteran Chris Paddack was brought in via free agency to eat innings.
That leaves four spots in the rotation accounted for. For much of the offseason the assumption had been that lefty Braxton Garrett would reclaim his spot in the rotation after missing out on the 2025 campaign due to injury. Recent reporting from Christina De Nicola of MLB.com suggests that might not be guaranteed, however. De Nicola writes that the Marlins could consider giving Garrett additional time to rehab and build up towards his return to the majors after last year’s Tommy John surgery. That could involve him beginning the year on the injured list, or even simply using his final remaining option year to send him to the minors. Garrett was incredibly impressive for Miami back in 2023, with a 3.66 ERA in 31 appearances (30 starts) and a solid 23.7% strikeout rate.
Typically, it would be a shock to see the Marlins not simply go back to the once-effective southpaw for the final spot in their rotation. With that said, however, there are some indications that the club is giving a real consideration to Garrett starting the year in the minors. The lefty did struggle a bit in the seven starts he made during the 2024 campaign when he was healthy enough to take the mound, though some grace must be given considering that those starts came with solid peripherals and in the midst of an injury-marred campaign. On the other hand, De Nicola does note that the Marlins are hoping to have Garrett make changes to his approach this year and move into the strike zone a bit more often.
That’s a change that could take some getting used to for the lefty, and simultaneously changing his philosophy as a pitcher while also rehabbing could be a tall order for one Spring Training. If there are questions about Garrett’s ability to take on that workload, starting the season in the minors could make sense. That’s especially true given that Garrett’s return from Tommy John surgery has some similarities to that of Alcantara, who struggled badly upon his return last year. The Marlins are surely hoping to do a better job positioning Garrett for success when he returns than they did with the former Cy Young award winner, and that the lefty will be able to do a lot better this year than Alcantara’s 5.36 ERA in 31 starts last season.
If Garrett were to start the season in the minors, to whom could the Marlins turn? Perhaps the most obvious choice would be right-hander Janson Junk, who served as a swingman for the Marlins last year and posted a solid 4.17 ERA in 110 innings of work (including 16 starts) with even better peripherals. De Nicola notes that manager Clayton McCullough indicated that the club views Junk as a starter, and the team has worked to stretch him out this spring in order to keep him available as an option to start games. With that said, Junk pitched much better as a reliever (2.78 ERA) than as a starter (4.53 ERA) last season and has struggled a bit during camp this spring. Some of that can be attributed to poor sequencing considering Junk’s lackluster 62.2% strand rate in games he started last year, but his strikeout rate dropping from 22.5% in relief to 15.9% when starting games is surely no coincidence.
One other option could be top prospect Robby Snelling. Snelling would be something of a surprise pick for the Marlins, but the former first-rounder and current top-100 prospect is clearly poised to make his big league debut at some point this year. He turned in a dominant year between Double- and Triple-A last year, including 11 starts of 1.27 ERA baseball at the minors’ highest level. He struck out 30.3% of his opponents between both levels, and while he’s struggled in terms of run prevention (7.56 ERA) this spring his 32.5% strikeout rate during camp has been excellent. The Marlins have rarely allowed their young starters to stick in the majors for an entire wire-to-wire big league season during their rookie year, but if the team prefers to slow-play Garrett and keep Junk in a swing role then they might be best served starting Snelling in the majors and sending him down later in the year if he struggles or the rest of the staff is healthy when Garrett is ready.
How do MLBTR readers think the Marlins will ultimately handle the fifth spot in their rotation? Will they stick with Garrett to open the year even in spite of how things went with Alcantara last year? Will they overlook Junk’s lackluster numbers when starting last year and give him a shot? Or will they turn to top prospect Snelling in spite of his mixed performance during camp? Have your say in the poll below:
Who will open the 2026 season in the Marlins' final rotation spot?
Braxton Garrett Janson Junk Robby Snelling Vote Vote to see results Braxton Garrett 45% (28) Janson Junk 35% (22) Robby Snelling 19% (12)Total votes: 62
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