Miami Marlins Looking to Add Veteran Starting Pitcher at 'Modest Salary,' Per Report

After trading away Jesús Luzardo and losing Braxton Garrett to elbow surgery, the Miami Marlins are reportedly in the market to round out their starting rotation with a veteran or two.

Cincinnati, OH, USA; A view of a New Era Miami Marlins hat in the dugout during the game against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. | Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

The Miami Marlins are considering adding at least one veteran starting pitcher in the coming days, the Miami Herald's Barry Jackson reported Tuesday.

Miami's front office could do so via either free agency or trade and, according to Jackson, they are willing to add one at "a modest salary." That would be a notable step forward for president of baseball operations Peter Bendix & co., considering the current regime has hardly spent any serious money on big league acquisitions through 15 months in power.

Pitchers and catchers report to the Marlins' spring training camp on Feb. 12, and the team's rotation is far from sorted out. Miami dealt Jesús Luzardo to the Philadelphia Phillies in December, just as Braxton Garrett was undergoing UCL surgery that will knock him out for all of 2025. They also lost Roddery Muñoz to the St. Louis Cardinals in free agency and saw Adam Oller head off to the Korean Baseball Organization.

While former Cy Young winner Sandy Alcántara is set to return from Tommy John surgery and start on Opening Day, the Marlins are still a bit thin when it comes to reliable starting pitchers.

Former prospect Eury Pérez, for instance, is likely out until the All-Star break recovering from Tommy John surgery of his own. Ryan Weathers and Edward Cabrera are in line to serve as Miami's No. 2 and 3 starters, but they combined for just 182.1 innings last season.

The back half of the rotation is currently made up of Valente Bellozo and Max Meyer.

The former posted a 3.67 ERA last season, while the latter was the No. 3 overall pick of the 2020 MLB Draft. And yet, they both have just 13 MLB starts under their respective belts.

Lack of experience is also a concern in regards to top prospect Adam Mazur, who put up a 5.21 ERA in Triple-A after coming over from the San Diego Padres in the Tanner Scott trade.

Adding a veteran innings-eater would take some of the weight off of youngsters returning from injuries, all while allowing Miami to ease Mazur into a big league role. And if everyone is healthy to open the year, the Marlins could even run with a six-man rotation of Alcántara, Weathers, Cabrera, Bellozo, Meyer and whoever they can manage to reel in.

The top-ranked starting pitchers remaining on the free agent market are Nick Pivetta, Jose Quintana, Andrew Heaney, Kyle Gibson, Spencer Turnbull, Jakob Junis and Lance Lynn. The New York Yankees' Marcus Stroman and the Arizona Diamondbacks' Jordan Montgomery are among the most notable starters out there to be acquired in a trade.

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