How Marlins are lining up starting rotation for opening week of 2025 season

Very early in spring training, the Miami Marlins made it clear that Sandy Alcantara would be on the mound for their March 27 season opener. With the season beginning next week, manager Clayton McCullough finally filled in some of the blanks about what the starting rotation looks like behind him during an interview with the Marlins Radio Network on Sunday.

McCullough confirmed that Max Meyer and Cal Quantrill will be in the Marlins rotation, though they aren't directly following Alcantara's outing. Their final preseason tune-ups are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, with Meyer starting an exhibition game against the New York Yankees at loanDepot park and Quantrill pitching a simulated game in Jupiter. Their regular season debuts will come five days later—Meyer faces the Pittsburgh Pirates on March 30 and Quantrill gets the first game of the New York Mets series on March 31.

In between, things are still fluid. Connor Gillispie, who's pitching Sunday's Grapefruit League finale, is part of the plan for either March 28 or March 29. McCullough left open the possibility that he could be a bulk guy out of the bullpen rather than a conventional starter, with "somebody else" filling a similar role for whichever game Gillispie doesn't do.

That "somebody else" could be Valente Bellozo, who's already on the Marlins 40-man roster and had half a season of nice results at the major league level in 2024. However, Bellozo was out-pitched by both non-roster invitees Janson Junk and Xzavion Curry this spring. Perhaps McCullough is purposefully being vague until a corresponding move is made to get Junk or Curry on the 40-man.

Recent injuries to Ryan Weathers (left forearm strain) and Edward Cabrera (right middle finger blister) are responsible for causing this rotation chaos. Weathers could be sidelined for a large chunk of the season, but McCullough had an optimistic take on Cabrera. After he throws in Wednesday's sim game, the Marlins intend to send Cabrera out on a minor league rehab assignment. McCullough volunteered April 11 as a potential return date to the majors—that would account for two MiLB rehab starts and bring him back soon after he's eligible to come off the 15-day IL.