Marlins Proclaimed to Have Worst Rotation in Majors

The Miami Marlins have seen one of the team's historic strengths turn into a weakness and a liability

Miami Marlins closer Tanner Scott hasn't allowed an earned run in his last ten outings / Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

The Miami Marlins have relied on the strength of their pitching staff in recent seasons.  

2024 has been a different story. 

Between the season-long absences of Sandy Alcantara and Eury Pérez (Tommy John), the repeated absences of Edward Cabrera (shoulder), and the IL stints of Jesus Luzardo (forearm) and Braxton Garrett (shoulder), Miami’s rotation has struggled in 2024. 

But is it the worst in the league? That’s the place that Bleacher Report put it in their recent pitching staff power rankings. Writer Zachary Rymer had complimentary things to say about Tanner Scott’s recent improvement and Declan Cronin’s emergence in 2024, but had this to say the rest of Miami’s staff in his “What’s Bad” breakdown: 

Basically everything else, but especially the starting rotation. Sandy Alcantara and Eury Pérez are out for the year, and Edward Cabrera has already hit the IL twice because of a bad shoulder. What functional starters the Marlins do have are barely that, as their 5.49 ERA is second-worst in the majors.

Is being dropped to 30th place warranted? The main argument here, other than the injury absences, centers on the ERA of the staff. Their 5.49 entering Wednesday’s action is now down to just 4.98 after Wednesday’s shutout and some of the most egregious offenders are now removed from the rotation: A.J. Puk and his 9.22 ERA as a starter are back in the bullpen, while Edward Cabrera had a 7.17 prior to going on the injured list. 

Several of Miami’s starters at the moment are either performing relatively well (Ryan Weathers has a 3.81 after eight shutout innings against Detroit) or are improving from outing to outing (Sixto Sánchez has given up only two earned runs in his last 8.2 innings, spanning two outings). 

While having Max Meyer every fifth day would be preferable - he was Miami’s best starter prior to his minor league demotion, going 2-0 with a 2.12 ERA - there’s reason to hope that Miami’s rotation is starting to trend upward as they get better health and better matchups. 

There’s arguments to be made that any of the rotations of the Colorado Rockies (league-worst 5.03 ERA, 28th on B/R list), the Chicago White Sox (league leader in homers allowed, 27th on B/R list), and the Los Angeles Angels (29th on B/R list with league-high 5.21 ERA at publication) could be slotted into the 30th spot. 

Ultimately, part of the reason the Marlins are mired in a team-worst 13-32 start with baseball’s lowest winning percentage (.289) is that this traditional strength has regressed so much this season. Whether it’s 30th or 28th, there’s no realistic path to this team going on a run without significantly improved pitching. Let’s hope the Tigers series is an omen of things to come for the Miami Marlins.