Janson Junk's Job Isn't Safe Despite Making Marlins Opening Day Roster
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You'd have to figure that Janson Junk took at least a little time to celebrate having been named to the Miami Marlins' Opening Day roster and starting rotation ahead of the 2026 season — and with good reason.
With the announcement that Braxton Garrett would be sent down to Triple-A Jacksonville to begin the season, it meant that Junk would take the reins as the Marlins' No. 5 starter and begin the year as part of a team's rotation for the first time in his five-year career.
That being said, Junk's Opening Day roster spot comes with little in the form of guarantees or assurances. The 30-year-old right-hander is a member of the rotation for the time being, but hasn't done enough to earn much in the way of job security.
Junk Must Continue to Prove Himself as Miami's No. 5 Starter
While Junk has come out on top for now in the race for the final spot in Miami's rotation, he knows it's not entirely by virtue of outplaying all other Marlins pitchers who were pursuing the role. He has had a relatively shaky spring, going 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA by virtue of allowing five earned runs and seven hits across five innings pitched over one start and three appearances. He also still faces looming questions related to how deep he can go into games.
However, Junk effectively assumed the role by virtue of no one else being in the right position to wrestle it away from him.
Garrett posted slightly better numbers in Grapefruit League action (0-0 with a 6.75 ERA over two starts), but Miami manager Clayton McCullough opted to give the 28-year-old lefty more time to ease back into game action after being sidelined for the 2025 season due to Tommy John surgery.
Speaking of the famous UCL reconstruction surgery, Adam Mazur was poised to compete for a starting spot and had even held opposing batters hitless through three innings across two spring appearances. Unfortunately, the 24-year-old was forced to undergo his own Tommy John surgery after experiencing right elbow discomfort following a March 2 outing.
While Garrett might be the most immediate threat to Junk's standing as part of the starting five, Thomas White and Robby Snelling loom large as long-term threats.
White, the Marlins' top prospect, barely saw the mound this spring, allowing two runs in the one inning of his only Spring Training appearance. However, the organization is deliberately bringing him along at a controlled pace (see Garrett and Mazur as cautionary tales) and he is ultimately expected to reach the big leagues this season.
Likewise for Snelling, who had a noteworthy spring in which he was hit hard (seven earned runs and 12 hits in 8.1 innings), but also struck out 13 hitters along the way. Miami's use of the 22-year-old left-hander offered evidence that he might be closer to making his major league debut than White, a high schooler selected in the first round of the 2023 draft.
Both prospects would offer the rotation a level of balance that Junk cannot. As it stands, the Marlins rotation (Sandy Alcantara, Eury Pérez, Max Meyer, Chris Paddack and Junk) is entirely comprised of right-handed pitchers. If McCullough ultimately wants some southpaw representation (Ryan Weathers provided some last year before being traded to the New York Yankees), then he could look to White or Snelling.
Miami does not boast the deepest rotation in baseball, a reality made even more true by the absence of Mazur and continued ramping up of Garrett. As such, Junk is getting an opportunity that may not have been afforded to him in many other organizations. Now, he needs to take full advantage of it.
