Chris Paddack's 6.11 ERA could end Marlins run Sunday
chris paddack is scheduled to start for the Miami Marlins on Sunday, and it could be his last outing in a Miami uniform unless something drastically changes. The right-hander has not given the club much reason to keep him in the rotation after a rough opening stretch.
Paddack's Miami line
Through six appearances, Paddack has a 6.11 ERA and a 1.500 WHiP over 28 innings. He has struck out 26 batters and walked seven, but he has worked more than 4.2 innings only once, a limitation that has made every start harder for Miami to build around.
That comes after he signed a one-year, $4 million contract with the Marlins. Miami took the gamble knowing it needed help in the rotation, but the early returns have looked more like a short-term fix than a stable answer.
Braxton Garrett in Triple-A
The most direct alternative is Braxton Garrett, who has put up a 1.71 ERA and a 0.684 WHiP over 26.1 innings at Triple-A. He has struck out 26 batters and walked 12, and he also threw a no-hitter for the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp before losing the no-hit bid on a pair of unearned runs.
Garrett is working back from internal brace surgery on his left elbow, so Miami would be weighing performance against workload and recovery. Robby Snelling offers another route, and he has been more overpowering in Triple-A with a 1.86 ERA, a 0.897 WHiP, 44 strikeouts and 15 walks over 29 innings.
Marlins rotation turn
The club has been hovering around.500 as the calendar turned to May, which keeps the next rotation call important even without a major standings chase attached to it. Paddack’s own track record before Miami was ordinary rather than disastrous — a 5.35 ERA and 1.285 WHiP over 158 innings between the Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers — but the Marlins appear to be looking for more than ordinary from the spot they gave him.
If Sunday is the final look, Miami can move quickly toward one of those Triple-A arms and stop waiting for the starter it signed to settle in. For Paddack, the margin is small now: one more outing, and then the decision may belong to the numbers already on the board.
