Marlins sign Cal Quantrill to major league deal

JUPITER, FL—Starting rotation depth was a big question mark for the Miami Marlins entering 2025 spring training. Just as their first pitchers and catchers workout wrapped up on Wednesday, ESPN's Alden Gonzalez broke the news that they have signed veteran pitcher Cal Quantrill. SportsGrid's Craig Mish reports that it is a one-year deal worth $3.5 million and Quantrill will be reporting to Jupiter on Thursday. Incentives could boost the value to $4 million, according to FanSided's Robert Murray.

"We've had discussions with a lot of players over the entire winter," said Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix. "We were able to make this come together now in a way that works for us and for Cal and we are very excited to add him to the team."

Quantrill, 30, was most recently with the Colorado Rockies where he posted a 4.98 ERA, 5.32 FIP, 6.7 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 through 148 ⅓ innings pitched. His best month came in May when he posted a 1.71 ERA through five starts, but Quantrill fell off after that. He also missed a few weeks due to right triceps inflammation.

The Marlins needed an innings-eater and they certainly got one. Quantrill has averaged 146 innings per season since 2021, including a career-high 186 ⅓ innings in 2022 with the Cleveland Guardians. "I think that he's demonstrated that he can do that," said Bendix. "That's a rare skill. It's hard to find, especially these days, and it's something that's gonna be really helpful for us."

The Rockies non-tendered Quantrill in November rather than pay him a projected $9 million in what would have been his final year of arbitration eligibility. The Marlins wind up getting the Canadian righty for a fraction of that amount, though he's still the second-highest paid pitcher on their roster behind only Sandy Alcantara. Quantrill is also second to Alcantara in terms of MLB service time (five years and 132 days).

"He brings a lot of just proven ability to go out there and pitch every fifth day and get good results," added Bendix. "He's been very successful in his career, and he's somebody that we think is going to really slide well into our rotation."

Even when Quantrill has been successful in the past, he has pitched to contact (career 17.5 K%). The Marlins will have to play solid defense to get the best out of him in 2025. He'll be looking to improve his sinker, which posted a minus-16 run value last season, per Baseball Savant.

Like Griffin Conine and Ryan Weathers, Quantrill is the son of a former Marlin. At the end of a 14-year MLB career, his dad, Paul Quantrill, pitched six games for the 2005 team. Conine and Weathers have adopted their dads' old numbers this season, but Cal will wear No. 40 (Paul wore No. 48).

Quantrill should be a lock for the Marlins season-opening rotation along with Alcantara, Weathers and Edward Cabrera. That leaves Max Meyer and Valente Bellozo as the primary candidates for the final spot with minor leaguers Adam Mazur and Robby Snelling also in the mix if injuries occur.

As the corresponding move to make Quantrill's signing official, the Marlins placed Braxton Garrett (left elbow UCL surgery) on the 60-day IL. Garrett is expected to miss the entire 2025 season.