Why these 3 remaining free agent pitchers should interest Marlins

Of the pitchers listed, I'm only interested in Jalen Beeks. We don't need starting pitchers that won't move the needle to block Robby Snelling or Thomas White from reaching the majors. Even if those two need to miss the opening day to delay their service clock, we have Adam Mazur, Ryan Gusto, and Janson Junk to hold the fort until they're ready to go.

People seem to be forgetting about 28 year old LH SP Braxton Garrett returning from TJ surgery (Dec 24') this spring healthy and good to go. This guy was a workhorse for us in our 2023 Playoff run going 9-7 with a 3.66 Era and 156 K's in 159 Innings pitched. A former 1st Rd draft pick for Miami in 2016, this stud is rested, fully healed and ready to start where he left off. He is not a power pitcher but instead relies on a cutter, sweeper, curve and fastball with excellent control and continuously misses the barrels of bats. So add him to our Starting 5 and stop forgetting that we have him. He's gonna be a big part of our starting rotation and team this year for sure.

9 minutes ago, Rob V said:

People seem to be forgetting about 28 year old LH SP Braxton Garrett returning from TJ surgery (Dec 24') this spring healthy and good to go. This guy was a workhorse for us in our 2023 Playoff run going 9-7 with a 3.66 Era and 156 K's in 159 Innings pitched. A former 1st Rd draft pick for Miami in 2016, this stud is rested, fully healed and ready to start where he left off, being a prize part of our starting rotation in 2026. So add him to our Starting 5 and stop forgetting that we have him!

That's because he has spent quite a long time without having any real game action, and post-surgery, we won't know what we we'll get. Expecting a soft-tossing lefty like Garrett to return to form after missing nearly 2 years worth of game action is a pipe dream.

I know this is an apples-to-oranges comparison, but Sandy Alcantara missed less time than Garrett, and it took a hair over 3 months of ugly pitching from him to finally find his groove. It takes more time than others for pitchers who rely entirely on command, and out of our starters, there is no starter on our team that is more reliant on command than Braxton Garrett; especially when his average velo is in the bottom 6th percentile in the league. (This was in 2024. I'd expect that number to be even worse this year)

I'd keep your expectations reserved on Garrett.

17 hours ago, One Regend said:

That's because he has spent quite a long time without having any real game action, and post-surgery, we won't know what we we'll get. Expecting a soft-tossing lefty like Garrett to return to form after missing nearly 2 years worth of game action is a pipe dream.

I know this is an apples-to-oranges comparison, but Sandy Alcantara missed less time than Garrett, and it took a hair over 3 months of ugly pitching from him to finally find his groove. It takes more time than others for pitchers who rely entirely on command, and out of our starters, there is no starter on our team that is more reliant on command than Braxton Garrett; especially when his average velo is in the bottom 6th percentile in the league. (This was in 2024. I'd expect that number to be even worse this year)

I'd keep your expectations reserved on Garrett.

Sandy was unusual in the 1st half with his wildness and leaving fastballs up in the zone but Eury on the other hand suffered no setbacks after TJ other then having his innings limited in the 1st half.

I see Braxton Garrett with his experience plus being a former 1st round pick showing the young kids what he's all about this year. He will work on the control of his pitches in the spring and be ready to go by opening day. As for his velocity dropping in 2024, his elbow was torn but now he's got a new stronger arm so he should be where he was at in 2023 or even better. He was around all the new guys last year but wasn't able to play or contribute so he's coming in locked and loaded with a chip on his shoulder and ready to produce right out the gate in 2026. He's ready to show these guys who he was and is now that he's healthy again, that's my prediction.

I like Garrett in the rotation, but why not put him in the pen to build up. It solves the lefty in the bullpen problem. I’m also not opposed to using snelling and white in the pen. They can be stretched back out if needed. I’ve never understood and never will starter or nothing mantra. Best arms on the 26 man roster to help win games is all it should be. 

13 hours ago, Rob V said:

Sandy was unusual in the 1st half with his wildness and leaving fastballs up in the zone but Eury on the other hand suffered no setbacks after TJ other then having his innings limited in the 1st half.

I see Braxton Garrett with his experience plus being a former 1st round pick showing the young kids what he's all about this year. He will work on the control of his pitches in the spring and be ready to go by opening day. As for his velocity dropping in 2024, his elbow was torn but now he's got a new stronger arm so he should be where he was at in 2023 or even better. He was around all the new guys last year but wasn't able to play or contribute so he's coming in locked and loaded with a chip on his shoulder and ready to produce right out the gate in 2026 to show these guys who he was and is. That's my prediction.

Even Eury Perez didn't perform anywhere as well in 2025 as he did in 2023. He still managed a semi-respectable 4.25 ERA and a 3.67 FIP in spite of his awful stretches, Eury Perez got by on just his stuff alone, even with shaky command.

When it comes to returning from surgery, often, command is the last thing that returns. This is true for every pitcher. Sandy Alcantara doesn't post great strikeout numbers. He relies on command. If he doesn't have command of his pitches, he gets cratered by the opposing team. He didn't have command for a large portion of the season last year. This was how his ERA was over 7.00 for much of that season.

Braxton Garrett is even more reliant on command than Sandy is.

You can see how I'm worried about Braxton Garrett coming off of surgery.

On 1/14/2026 at 9:03 AM, THOMAS JOSEPH said:

I'm squarely in the "fine either way" camp. While I think things are adequate as-is, adding a middling vet seems just as likely. 

Innings eating veterans are the road to mediocrity.  I much prefer high upside young pitchers like Snelling and White.  Speaking of pitchers returning from Tommy John, don't sleep on Dax Fulton.

Another pitcher we seem to forget about is Andrew Nardi.  The FO has a better idea of his rehab and signed him and kept him on the 40 man roster.  This is the guy Schumacher brought in late with runners on base to get out of jams.  He could be a real major +++.  Go Fish!