Junk, Nardi Placed on IL as Injuries Plague Marlins Pitching

Injuries continue to mount for the Miami Marlins pitching staff.

One of the best bullpens in baseball continues to be tested this weekend. Janson Junk has been scratched from Sunday’s start against the New York Mets and placed on the 15-day Injured List.

John King will start a bullpen day in his place. With their long reliever, Tyler Phillips, now in the rotation, the Marlins will likely use nearly the entirety of their bullpen on Sunday. 

The Marlins chose to call up Josh White from Triple-A Jacksonville to replace Junk on the active roster. White was a fifth-round draft pick out of California by the Marlins in 2022. White is 4-0 with a 1.33 ERA, a 1.00 WHIP, and 28 strikeouts in 27 innings pitched over 17 appearances for the Jumbo Shrimp. 

Junk has a 4.80 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP over 11 starts for the Marlins this season. Junk joins Eury Perez and Robby Snelling as Marlins starting pitchers who have hit the IL. Phillips is in place of Snelling, who was in place of Chris Paddack.

The news of Junk’s injury comes after the Marlins placed left-handed reliever Andrew Nardi on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to Thursday) with a left rib cage stress reaction leading up to the Marlins’ 6-1 road loss against the Mets on Saturday. 

Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said during a recent press conference that he felt pain in his ribs “for a while” and, despite being able to pitch, “the IL placement was going to be necessary” after imaging was done in New York. 

“He's going to be down some time,” McCullough said. “It's going to be -- we think -- certainly more than the 15 days an IL stint requires.”

Nardi has a 10.7 K/9 and 5.16 ERA through 25 outings, but last pitched on Wednesday in Toronto. Nardi, who missed all of last season with an injury, told MLB.com after Saturday’s game that the paid first appeared in Atlanta on April 13-15. He’s been trying to pitch through it up until this point, but reached a breaking point against the Blue Jays. 

“It's been a little bit difficult breathing lately,” Nardi said. “Even on the off-day here, I woke up and it kind of hurt to roll over a little bit, and I felt it, so I just went and got it checked out.”

William Kempner was called back up in place of Nardi and pitched a scoreless ninth inning on Saturday. 

Ryan Gusto might be the guy who will take Pérez’s spot in the rotation on Tuesday. Gusto, who was recently called up to pitch an inning out of the bullpen, is 4-2 with a 3.83 ERA, a 1.30 WHIP, and 52 strikeouts in 44.2 innings pitched over 10 appearances (seven starts) at Triple-A Jacksonville. His last pitching appearance was a relief stint on May 29 and his regular start was scratched, probably to prepare him for the Marlins.

Braxton Garrett may be a candidate to get another chance in the rotation in place of Junk next week. He went four innings with five strikeouts and two runs allowed in his most recent outing on May 27 for the Jumbo Shrimp.  

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