With Jesús Luzardo injured, Marlins promote Anthony Maldonado

[Ely Sussman]

Maldonado's well-deserved call-up will unfortunately be overshadowed by news that Marlins starter Jesús Luzardo is dealing with left elbow discomfort. The young right-hander will start in Luzardo's place.

The Miami Marlins announced Friday morning that Jesús Luzardo experienced left elbow discomfort, preventing him making his scheduled start against the Washington Nationals. It's another deflating setback in a month that's been full of them for the 6-20 Marlins. On the bright side, as first reported by Fish On First, right-handed reliever Anthony Maldonado is being called up from Triple-A Jacksonville. He'll serve as the club's opener on Friday.

Maldonado is FOF's #17 prospect and he had nothing left to prove in the minors. In 57 Triple-A appearances dating back to 2022, he has posted a 1.84 ERA with 109 strikeouts in 78 ⅓ innings. Through eight appearances (11.2 IP) in 2024, he has allowed five hits. The 26-year-old's slider is one of the nastiest pitches at any level of the organization.

Maldonado has been developed as a reliever from the get-go, with his only two professional "starts" coming during a minor league rehab assignment. So far this season, he hasn't gone beyond two innings or 40 pitches in any appearance. Similar to Wednesday's Sixto Sánchez-led game, there will be a lot of different arms involved.

Maldonado joins fellow 2019 draftees Bryan Hoeing and Andrew Nardi on the current Marlins pitching staff. Overall, eight players from that class have reached the majors, an impressive total (although the quality of their MLB performances thus far have been inconsistent).

This may be a short initial stint for Maldonado in The Show. Right-hander JT Chargois is close to returning from the injured list after his bout with neck spasms and Huascar Brazoban (visa issues) seems to be making progress as well. Chargois in particular would take priority over Maldonado considering he's out of minor league options.

Elbow problems are unfortunately nothing new for Luzardo. The talented lefty underwent Tommy John surgery in 2016 at the beginning of his professional career. He then missed a chunk of the 2022 season with a left forearm strain. Given that history, with the current season looking unsalvageable and Luzardo holding so much trade value when healthy, expect the Marlins to handle his situation as cautiously as possible.

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