Only a question of when for Miami Marlins starting pitcher shutdowns

There were definitely plenty of fireworks in this most recent showdown between the Miami Marlins and the New York Mets.

Pete Alonso continued his Marlin killing ways. Juan Soto continued being Juan Soto. Marlins manager Clayton McCullough continued to make puzzling pitching moves. Jakob Marsee continued to look like a star in the making. Agustin Ramirez continued to look like a guy that really, really shouldn't play catcher. In other words, plenty of potential storylines.

Yet what stood out the most in this series were the performances from Miami's starting pitchers.

All of which begs the question, just how long will the Marlins front office continue sending their prized assets out there every fifth day?

Now, part of the answer might just be throwing that every fifth day cliche out the window and moving to a six-man rotation over the season's final month. For what it's worth, that would line up rest wise with what has been the general rule down at AAA. So there'd be no real system shock for names like Adam Mazur, Robby Snelling, or presumably even Ryan Weathers if he sticks around for a couple starts on his recent rehab assignment. If handled right with off days and a bullpen day or two, that could be enough to shave a start off of everyone's final ledger.

However, one has to think the Miami Marlins front office doesn't want to see too many more starts like the ones they just saw from Edward Cabrera and Eury Perez. They especially don't want to see such a thing from Sandy Alcantara if it can be avoided. More to the point, they don't want any other GMs seeing those kind of starts either. Obviously, Perez isn't going anywhere- concerns with him would be strictly about responsible innings management for a young, recovering arm the team is counting on in 2026 and beyond. The others though? They're on the market until they are either traded or extended, and remain Miami's top assets.

Cabrera is already at a career high in innings pitched. Perez is getting there. Alcantara is nowhere close to his career high, but is still in a position where the Marlins could pull the plug on his season at any time.

All of them will make at least one more start in 2025, if not two. After an upcoming three game set against a very beatable Nationals sqaud, a nine-game homestand awaits. In other words, plenty of opportunity to pad stats and/or sell tickets. Beyond that though?

It's not a question of if the Marlins shut down some of their starters early. It's only a question of when.