MIAMI – The Marlins made the decision to option veteran left-hander Braxton Garrett to Triple-A Jacksonville on Wednesday, less than 24 hours after his latest short start in an 8-4 loss to the Braves at loanDepot park.
Miami recalled left-handed reliever Cade Gibson from Triple-A as the corresponding move to cover for an overworked bullpen.
Garrett allowed two runs over three innings in his second start back in the Majors, as manager Clayton McCullough aggressively pulled him after just 65 pitches (35 strikes).
How long Garrett remains in the Minors will depend on how long it takes for him to regain his form.
"It was tough," McCullough said Wednesday. "After a couple starts here, we want him to get back to his best version. I think what we've seen the first couple starts back here, just the strike-throwing and the misses weren't great. ... Still feel the best place now for Braxton to go get himself back on track and get going there is in Jacksonville.
"We're trying to keep in mind that it's one thing to come back and you're healthy and you're physically OK. It's another thing -- the part that's a little bit tougher and more unpredictable -- is when the pitchability, when the command is going to come back. We all believe that it will, and [it's] just unfortunate these couple went the way they did. Braxton [will] just go back to Jacksonville and get back on the horse and work to get things going."
For the second straight start, Garrett labored in the first. This time around, however, he gave up two runs on two hits and two walks. Garrett bounced back with a perfect 11-pitch second, then stranded runners on the corners in a scoreless third when Heriberto Hernández made a sliding grab in shallow left.
The 28-year-old Garrett credited a mechanical adjustment for helping sync up his body.
“I felt like I could let the ball go and have confidence it'd go where I wanted [it] to,” Garrett said before the demotion. “It's all coming together slowly, slower than I'd like it, but I'm happy with the adjustment I made.
“I just went back to kind of thinking like my old self, kind of pushing towards first a little bit to keep my front side closed, because that's kind of been the problem. Just the body wanting to go, go, go, go very fast, and kind of pushing out towards first. Kind of clean that up, and it felt natural. Can definitely take that away and build on that.”
Garrett rejoined the Major League rotation last Thursday in Minneapolis after Marlins No. 2 prospect Robby Snelling sustained a left UCL sprain. He will visit Dr. Keith Meister in Dallas on Thursday for further evaluation.
This spring marked Garrett’s return from left elbow UCL revision surgery with an internal brace, which he underwent in December 2024. He didn’t make the 2026 Opening Day rotation, so he opened the season at Triple-A Jacksonville despite being one of the club’s most reliable starters (124 ERA+) from 2022-23.
But unlike some of his rotation mates, Garrett doesn’t showcase elite velocity. He relies on pinpoint location of his pitches to retire batters. Command usually takes time to return post-procedure, as seen by Sandy Alcantara and Eury Pérez’s 2025 campaigns.
With the Marlins on Day 8 of 16 gamedays in a row, the club couldn’t afford another short start (Garrett recorded just four outs last Thursday). Miami added Gibson as a fresh bullpen arm until Garrett’s spot comes up again on Sunday against the Mets. Righties Josh Ekness and William Kempner were not eligible to be recalled because 15 days hadn't passed since being optioned. The only other 40-man option was righty Josh White, who has yet to debut.
Once Sunday rolls around, Miami could go with a bullpen game or decide between three 40-man starting options: righties Bradley Blalock and Ryan Gusto or lefty Dax Fulton, who started for Triple-A Jacksonville on Tuesday night (5 IP, ER). Blalock and Gusto have combined for 49 MLB outings (35 starts), while Fulton has appeared just once in the big leagues. Blalock and Gusto last pitched on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Relievers Tyler Phillips, Lake Bachar and Michael Petersen are built up to go multiple innings.
"We'll have nine at least, or how many innings we play covered, and I think over the next few days we'll continue to flush that out and discuss what we want to do on Sunday," McCullough said. "We'll just look at how the next couple of days go. We definitely have some options here that we have right now that certainly [can] run a game. We have some quality options in Jacksonville as well. We'll keep kicking the tires and know more as we get into the weekend."