Chris Paddack is scheduled to start for the Miami Marlins on Sunday, and unless something drastically changes, it should be his last turn in Miami.
The right-hander signed a one-year, $4 million deal before the season and has not given the Marlins much reason to keep waiting. Over 28 innings in his first six appearances, Paddack has a 6.11 ERA and a 1.500 WHiP, with 26 strikeouts and seven walks. He has topped 4.2 innings in only one of those outings. As the calendar turned to May, Miami was hovering around.500, and the margin for patience was getting thinner by the start.
Paddack’s overall line helps explain why the Marlins viewed him as a potential reclamation project when they signed him. Between the Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers last season, he posted a 5.35 ERA and a 1.285 WHiP over 158 innings, while striking out 112 and walking 37. Miami was already carrying questions throughout the rotation when it brought him in, and those questions have only sharpened after a rocky April.
That leaves the Marlins looking at other arms. Braxton Garrett has returned to Triple-A after internal brace surgery on his left elbow and has a 1.71 ERA with a 0.684 WHiP over 26.1 innings, along with 26 strikeouts and 12 walks. Robby Snelling, a top prospect, has gone even deeper on the strike-throwing side, posting a 1.86 ERA and a 0.897 WHiP over 29 innings with 44 strikeouts and 15 walks. Garrett also threw a no-hitter for the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, though he lost the game because of a pair of unearned runs.
Miami cannot afford to keep giving Paddack chances if it wants a serious run at a playoff berth. Sunday may be less about one more start than one last look before the Marlins decide whether the roster needs a different answer.
