Marlins Lose Starter to 'Elbow Discomfort', Prompting Fears of Severe Injury

The Miami Marlins are dealing with yet another injury to their rotation

The Miami Marlins are making a last-minute change to tonight's rotation plans.

And it's not great news.

The team announced this morning that starter Jesús Luzardo is being scratched from tonight's series opener against the Washington Nationals with "elbow discomfort" that he began experiencing yesterday. He is undergoing further testing and nothing more is known at this time.

And besides the obvious question - who starts tonight? - this prompts bigger fears for a team that's already lost several expected contributors to severe injury that will keep them out for all of 2024.

Ace Sandy Alcantara underwent Tommy John surgery last fall, while young phenom Eury Pérez had his Tommy John surgery this spring. Both will miss the entirety of 2024 and some portion of 2025. Braxton Garrett dealt with shoulder discomfort during spring training and then had his return delayed to a bout of "dead arm", while Edward Cabrera dealt with shoulder discomfort of his own in spring training and has made just two starts on the 2024 season.

If Luzardo is going to be out for an extended period of time, which "elbow discomfort" often leads to for a pitcher, it has several cascade effects on the team and roster.

The first is filling a rotation. With A.J. Puk officially preparing to move back to the bullpen when healthy, Max Meyer (controversially) being optioned to AAA Jacksonville for "workload management" reasons, and Braxton Garrett not expected to return to the majors until at least next week, the organization needs to cover innings in the rotation. Sixto Sanchez pitched as an opener for the bullpen game against Atlanta in Wednesday's series finale, but he's not expected to be a legitimate starting option at this point in his return from multiple seasons lost to injury.

But there's also the question about the trade deadline - Luzardo was expected to be one of Miami's most appealing trade pieces, with multiple years of team control and a major league track record that should have attracted quality prospects in return. If Luzardo has suffered a catastrophic injury that knocks him out for the season, it'll be even harder for Miami to acquire prospects at the deadline.

UPDATE: The Marlins have announced that RHP Anthony Maldonado will be tonight's starter.