Tyler Phillips takes over open Marlins rotation spot

[Ely Sussman]

"I don't think I'm gonna change anything." And why would you if you're Tyler Phillips?

Phillips has been the Miami Marlins' best right-handed relief pitcher this season, and that was also true throughout the second half of 2025. Beginning on Sunday, that production is being rewarded with a starting rotation spot. The 28-year-old will pitch less frequently in this new role and shoulder a heavier workload when he does take the mound, but he told the media at loanDepot park he expects to attack opposing hitters with the same approach that served him so well out of the bullpen.

Phillips' spot originally belonged to free agent acquisition Chris Paddack. The Marlins booted him to make room for highly touted prospect Robby Snelling, who lasted just one start before blowing out his elbow. Then Braxton Garrett got his opportunity...and quickly squandered it, landing barely half of his pitches for strikes en route to a pair of early exits.

Paddack, Snelling and Garrett combined for a staggering 8.10 ERA. Miami went 0-9 in their starts. The bar for Phillips to clear is laughably low.

"Whatever you want me to do to help the team, I'll go out there and answer the call," Phillips told manager Clayton McCullough.

The way that the Marlins used Phillips during the past two months was head-scratching. His results were brilliant (1.20 ERA in 30.0 IP), but they often came in meaningless situations. In 11 of his 15 appearances, he took the mound with his club trailing, hence why he has accrued a modest total of 0.18 win probability added, per FanGraphs. Instead of inserting him to put out fires, he was cast as a glorified mop-up guy.

What's encouraging is, Phillips has been equally effective against right-handed batters (.580 OPS allowed) and lefties (.588 OPS). Since debuting in the majors, he's actually better when facing an opponent multiple times in the same game. As recently as 2024, he logged 155 ⅓ innings pitched (AAA and MLB combined). Those are the kind of ingredients you look for in a rotation candidate.

Phillips has had only three days' rest since his previous outing. Against the New York Mets, don't expect him to be stretched far beyond his season-high of 52 pitches. But by mid-June, we should have a clear idea of how well he's suited for a starting role.

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[One Regend]

I'm not sure about this. Tyler Phillips was doing excellent in his role. Keep him doing what he's doing best.

I get that Ryan Gusto isn't impressing anyone at AAA and Bradley Blalock is getting blasted for an ERA over 5, but how is throwing Tyler Phillips in the fire, when he's already established a routine for his role, going to help your team's odds?

That's such a strange choice.