MIAMI -- The Marlins called No. 30 prospect Josh Ekness late Friday evening under the guise of attending to long overdue paperwork. Instead, it was to deliver life-changing news.
After sending out lefty Cade Gibson for 50 pitches in Friday night's 6-5 loss to the Phillies, Miami needed a fresh arm in the bullpen for the second day of a stretch of 10 consecutive days with a game, and 26 over the next 27. The organization decided to select Ekness' contract from Triple-A Jacksonville ahead of Saturday afternoon's game against the Phillies at loanDepot park.
"Honestly, I'm kind of just spinning, didn't quite know how to feel," Ekness said. "It's not necessarily something I was expecting, especially this early in the year. But like I said, I'm just ecstatic to be here. Still just kind of a surreal moment."
Ekness, whose arrival into the Miami airport coincided with that of his parents on Saturday morning, had struck out 21 batters but had allowed nine runs (eight earned) on 13 hits and six walks over 12 2/3 innings for Jacksonville this season.
According to MLB Pipeline's scouting report, Ekness possesses a 70-grade fastball and a 60-grade slider. A knock on "The Ekness Monster" is his ability to consistently throw strikes, as evidenced by his 45-grade control tool. Over parts of four Minor League seasons, Ekness has a 4.4 BB/9 and a 14.9 K/9. He has shown progress of late, issuing only two free passes over his last six games.
"I think mainly putting an emphasis on the execution part of things and being more external has helped me kind of limit some of the bigger misses and uncompetitive misses, and helped me just get focused on getting ahead and staying ahead in counts," Ekness said. "Usually, I'm pretty good at putting guys away when I get to the counts, but I just needed to be efficient and get to those counts to have that opportunity."
The 24-year-old Ekness isn't alone there. Strike throwing has been an issue for the Marlins' bullpen so far in 2026. Despite a MLB-low .194 average against, Miami's relievers have a 5.42 BB/9 (fourth highest in the Majors) and a 10.01 K/9 (second highest) entering Saturday.
Earning a promotion surprised not only Ekness but also his parents since Miami elected to call him up rather than fellow prospects and 40-man options William Kempner and Josh White. A non-roster invitee at big league camp in consecutive years, Ekness made an impression. He didn't allow a run in six of his nine Grapefruit League appearances this spring.
And although Ekness wasn't on the 40-man roster, Miami had an open spot after designating for assignment veteran outfielder Austin Slater on April 23. Ekness replaces Gibson, who was recalled on Tuesday because closer Pete Fairbanks landed on the injured list with nerve irritation. Fairbanks played catch on Saturday, and the hope is that will be a minimum 15-day stint.
"He was throwing great," manager Clayton McCullough said of Ekness. "Coming in this year, we thought very highly of Josh within our organization. It's big stuff, certainly a big heater, good breaking ball. He had a great camp with us this year. As much the performance and the stuff that he has, we've seen Josh take a lot of strides as a professional in his routine and his mindset, and felt like those were probably the areas where Josh could continue to take steps in that regard. The talent that he has would shine out with more regularity, and he has.
"He's performed great. He's missed a ton of bats. He's filling up the zone better than he has in the past. Excited for Josh to be here. He's earned this opportunity with us, and I believe we all knew it was going to happen at some point."
How the Marlins use Ekness is to be determined. In 2025, he led Double-A Pensacola with 10 saves in 12 opportunities. In four of his nine outings for Jacksonville this season, he recorded more than three outs.
"Eks has done a variety of things there," McCullough said. "He's gone in short bursts. He has been stretched out some and gone multiple innings. Right now, early on, we'll look to use Eks however, maybe what's best for that particular day and where our overall group is. But it is important that guys can come up here and do a variety of things."