Braxton Garrett was scheduled to start the Marlins’ game against the Dodgers tonight, but instead, the left-hander has been scratched and will be placed on the 15-day injured list, according to Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald (Twitter link). According to Garrett’s MLB.com profile page, he is suffering from a right oblique strain, and his IL placement is backdated to August 17.
The Marlins have selected the contract of right-hander Bryan Hoeing from Triple-A Jacksonville, and Hoeing will make his big league debut filling in for Garrett in a spot start. To create room on the 40-man roster, right-hander Anthony Bender — who will undergo Tommy John surgery — has been moved to the 60-day injured list.
Garrett already missed a month of the Triple-A season due to a shoulder injury, and he’ll now face a possible early end to his 2022 season unless his oblique issue is a mild strain. The quick IL placement might not necessarily be a sign of how severe the injury could be, as even minor oblique problems usually require at least a minimal IL stint, and the Marlins had to create roster space on short notice to add Hoeing to the club.
This is Garrett’s third MLB season, as he was up for a two-game cup of coffee in 2020 and then pitched in eight games (34 innings) in 2021 while being frequently shuttled back and forth from the minors. Since being called up in early June, this has been Garrett’s most extended stretch in the Show, and he has delivered a 3.67 ERA and an above-average walk (5.9%) and strikeout (24.5%) rate over 13 starts and 68 2/ 3 innings.
Selected seventh overall in the 2016 draft, Garrett’s early potential was hampered by a Tommy John surgery that sidelined him for the entire 2018 season. The left-hander then became a little overlooked amidst the many other up-and-coming arms in Miami’s farm system, although Garrett has kept himself with some solid numbers at Triple-A and now a good performance this season. While injuries have thinned the Marlins’ pitching depth to some extent, Garrett has at least put himself in the conversation for a rotation spot in 2023, and he could yet add to his case if he is able to return from his oblique injury this year.
Hoeing now gets an unexpected opportunity to make his Major League debut in his third season of pro ball. A seventh-round pick for the Marlins in the 2019 draft, Hoeing has a 4.55 ERA over 253 1/3 innings in the minors, including a 5.44 ERA over 84 1/3 frames of work for Triple-A Jacksonville this season. The groundball specialist could very well be headed back to the minors after tonight’s emergency outing, yet Hoeing will get a chance to test himself against the elite competition of the Dodgers lineup.
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