Sportswire Miami Staff | June 1, 2026
Miami’s Pitching Crisis Deepens as Marlins Scramble for Answers During Five-Game Slide
The Miami Marlins entered June already searching for solutions. After dropping five straight games and falling to 26-33, the club made a series of roster moves ahead of its road series against the Washington Nationals, hoping fresh arms could stabilize a pitching staff that has been hit hard by injuries.
The biggest moves came from Triple-A Jacksonville, where right-handers Zach Brzykcy and Tyler Zuber were selected to the major league roster.
Brzykcy, 26, returns to the majors after previously debuting with Washington. His overall MLB numbers remain rough, carrying a career 10.05 ERA across 28⅔ innings, but his 2026 Triple-A season has been more complicated than the headline statistics suggest. While he owns a 5.24 ERA in 22⅓ innings, he allowed just one earned run through his first 15⅓ frames before two disastrous outings accounted for nine of his 13 earned runs. He has also maintained a solid 26.3 percent strikeout rate.
Zuber brings more major league experience, appearing in parts of four MLB seasons. The 30-year-old posted a 33.9 percent strikeout rate in Triple-A this season and has relied heavily on his slider, throwing the pitch more than 57 percent of the time. While his career MLB ERA sits at 6.26, Miami is clearly betting that his swing-and-miss ability can provide immediate bullpen help.
To make room for the pair, the Marlins optioned Josh White to Triple-A and placed reliever Josh Ekness on the 15-day injured list with a calf strain. However, those were not the only moves made as part of the transaction wave.
The organization also transferred left-hander Andrew Nardi and outfielder Griffin Conine to the 60-day injured list to clear space on the 40-man roster. Nardi is dealing with a stress reaction in his ribcage and could miss several months, while Conine continues recovering from a hamstring injury that required surgery in early April. Conine is reportedly still at least one to two weeks away from beginning a rehab assignment.
The injury news becomes even more concerning when examining the state of Miami’s young pitching talent.
Top prospect Robby Snelling is no longer simply dealing with an unspecified elbow issue. The left-hander was placed on the injured list after experiencing soreness during a bullpen session in mid-May, and an MRI later revealed a sprained UCL in his left elbow. The injury is particularly alarming because UCL damage often raises the possibility of Tommy John surgery.
Snelling made his major league debut on May 8 and entered the season ranked as the Marlins’ No. 2 prospect and one of baseball’s top overall prospects. Multiple reports now indicate the injury is expected to keep him out for the remainder of the 2026 season, making it one of the organization’s most significant setbacks this year.
The news is only slightly better for Eury Pérez. The young right-hander was placed on the injured list with a right gracilis strain after suffering the injury in an unusual way while stretching in the dugout. Miami has estimated an approximately eight-week recovery timeline, a projection that remains unchanged.
Meanwhile, reports that highly regarded prospects Cam Cannarella and Aiva Arquette have been promoted to Double-A Pensacola could not be independently confirmed through available transaction records. The promotions remain plausible, but until official transaction logs or team announcements verify the moves, they should be treated as unconfirmed.
For now, the Marlins are focused on surviving a stretch that has tested nearly every layer of their pitching depth. The call-ups of Brzykcy and Zuber may provide temporary relief, but the larger story is the growing injury list. With Snelling likely lost for the season, Pérez sidelined for weeks, and Nardi facing an extended absence, Miami’s ability to remain competitive will depend heavily on how well its organizational depth can withstand an increasingly difficult summer.
