Marlins Get Good News on Luzardo But Still Need a Starter

The Miami Marlins dodged a bullet with one of their biggest trade chips, but still need starting pitching

USA; Miami Marlins starting pitcher Jesus Luzardo is playing catch right now but does not have an estimated return date from his flexor strain. / Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

The Miami Marlins may have dodged a bullet. 

Plagued by multiple injuries to their rotation that have already resulted in the loss of Sandy Alcantara and Eury Pérez for all of 2024 with Tommy John surgery, delayed the start of the year for Edward Cabrera (shoulder), and have prevented Braxton Garrett (shoulder) from pitching in a major league game yet, the Marlins were prepared for the worst when it came to Jesús Luzardo. 

Miami’s Opening Day starter was placed on the injured list last week with “left elbow tightness” requiring him to be scratched from his expected start. Fearing the worst, the Marlins later got word that his issue was a mild flexor strain, with a recovery period of weeks, rather than an injury to the UCL that would take months (at best) to heal. 

And so Luzardo, who has already been able to throw lightly, is expected back by the middle to end of May. 

Some of Jesús Luzardo playing catch #Marlins

Testing and imaging revealed mild left flexor muscle strain pic.twitter.com/mfBdpzkyn3

— Christina De Nicola (@CDeNicola13) April 29, 2024

But in the meantime, Miami needs a starter. Sixto Sánchez is the announced starter for tonight’s home opener against the Colorado Rockies. It’ll be his ninth appearance of the season - Miami’s 0-8 in his previous games. He made his first start in over three years against Atlanta last week, pitching 2.2 innings with three runs allowed on five hits. 

But Sánchez isn’t a sustainable rotation option for Miami. His 59 pitches last week was his highest of the season, but the effectiveness wasn’t there. With A.J. Puk currently injured and headed back to the bullpen when he returns, there are plenty of openings in the rotation. 

And while Max Meyer would be the most obvious option, Miami hasn’t indicated any plans to bring him back from AAA Jacksonville despite his more-than-adequate performances in his big league cameo: 2-0 in three starts and a 2.12 ERA. 

Instead, Robbery Muñoz is expected to be called up to start Wednesday’s game. It’ll be his second major league start after the former Braves prospect debuted against the Chicago Cubs in the April 20th doubleheader. He started game two, allowing two runs on two solo homers in his five innings of work, walking and striking out two each. 

While there’s definitely reason to be excited about Muñoz getting to make a start at home, there’s also some lingering frustration over the inability to call up Meyer, who continues to have his ‘workload managed’ in Jacksonville. Since being sent down, Meyer’s started twice for the Jumbo Shrimp, throwing 54 and 55 pitches to cover three and four innings, respectively.