Big update on injured Miami Marlins starting pitcher

Miami Marlins starting pitcher Braxton Garrett is dealing with alarming shoulder issues. The longer that situation goes, the more of a competition there might be for rotation spots this season. The best case scenario is of course to keep Garrett healthy and ready to contribute. We have an update on his current health status.

Will Braxton Garrett's potential injury affect his Opening Day status?

Braxton Garrett is not the Opening Day starter for the Miami Marlins. He is still an important part of the team, who produced a 3.66 ERA/3.68 FIP, with 8.8 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9 in 31 games and 159.2 innings pitched. He looked to be a solid #2-#3 type of arm with upside for even more. Garrett's breakout in 2023 was a pretty big deal and huge for the team.

It's pretty obvious that losing Braxton Garrett for any considerable amount of time, could be catastrophic for The Fish this season. It's also obvious that whenever any pitcher has shoulder issues of any kind, the alarm bells begin ringing pretty loudly for all of us. Immediate questions that pop to mind are if he'll need surgery and how long is he going to be out for? Will his production be affected this season?

Garrett so far threw bullpen sessions on both February 23 and February 26. It's a positive that he was able to throw another one, but it also doesn't appear as if he's close to pitching in a live game however. It's also unclear if he'll need a stint on the injured list or not. Manager Skip Schumaker had this to say:

"He's going to have a couple more bullpens, so I'm sure you can think about where that is headed. But I think the reality is he needs a couple more bullpens, and you need four or five before you get an outing out there. That was one. We'll see where he's at. Anything can happen, but he's going to need to throw more bullpens. But he felt really good coming out of it today."

It sounds like it's just all up in the air at this point. I'm certainly hoping that the left shoulder soreness isn't serious and that Braxton Garrett will be able to pitch early in the season. I also hope that he will be able to have a productive season without any further health issues.