Marlins chose Junk over Garrett. Junk is solid, but Garrett's dominance in Triple-A forces a tough reassessment of that controversial spring-training decision.
MIAMI -- Midway through spring training, Miami Marlins manager Clayton McCullough made the difficult decision to option Braxton Garrett to Triple-A Jacksonville in favor of having Janson Junk round out the starting rotation.
Among the two, Garrett had the clear advantage in resume. When healthy, he posted a combined 3.63 ERA and 246/53 K/BB through 2022-23 and was a key starter in the Marlins’ most recent return to the postseason. Tommy John ended his 2024 campaign and erased 2025.
Junk came onto the scene in 2025 as a minor league free agent and finished with a 4.17 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP in 110 innings pitched through 21 appearances (16 starts). Junk has posted similar numbers through four starts entering this season.
In four starts this season, Junk has a 4.50 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. Before the Marlins’ 7-5 loss against the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday, McCullough said it’s “been very encouraging to see the velocity that he’s shown in the early goings.”
“We’ve seen his fastball at times in the mid-90s and just how that helps the breaking stuff then to be firmer and it helps the changeup play off of that,” McCullough said.
The Marlins are counting on Junk to give them at least five innings each start, which is what he has done in the previous two outings. His second start of the season was the deepest of his career, when he went 7.1 innings with only two runs allowed.
“Every time he takes the ball, we expect he’s not going to beat himself,” McCullough said.
So far, even if Junk isn’t mainly to blame, the Marlins aren’t winning with him on the mound. The only time Miami was victorious with Junk starting was his first start against the Chicago White Sox, where he didn’t get the win because he was taken out before completing the fifth inning.
While Junk is pitching like a solid No. 5 starter, the Marlins are running out of reasons for keeping Garrett in Jacksonville. In three starts at the start of 2026, Garrett has a 0.59 ERA, a 0.59 WHIP and 17 strikeouts in 15.1 innings pitched. His most recent start was a six-inning no-hitter with six strikeouts.
At some point the Marlins will need to bring up one of their best starters from a previous era. Even signed at one-year, $1.53 million with arbitration around the corner (2027), the Marlins can’t afford to leave that value in Triple-A.
It may not be Junk who would lose his spot to a Garrett return, but each poor outing from the bottom three starts become more profound by comparison.
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