{"id":636061,"date":"2026-03-21T22:03:19","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T22:03:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/636061\/"},"modified":"2026-03-21T22:03:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T22:03:19","slug":"how-marlins-will-decide-battle-for-opening-day-bullpen-spots-miami-marlins-talk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/636061\/","title":{"rendered":"How Marlins will decide battle for Opening Day bullpen spots – Miami Marlins Talk"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tWEST PALM BEACH, FL\u00a0\u2014 The Miami Marlins announced on Friday that their starting rotation will consist of right-handed pitchers\u00a0Sandy Alcantara<\/a>, Eury P\u00e9rez<\/a>, Max Meyer<\/a>, Chris Paddack<\/a> and Janson Junk<\/a>. Less than a week away from Opening Day, the bullpen situation is not as settled.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe current locks are Pete Fairbanks<\/a>, John King<\/a>, Calvin Faucher<\/a>, Anthony Bender<\/a> and Tyler Phillips<\/a>. Beyond those names, there are three open spots. The names in contention are left-handers Cade Gibson<\/a> and Andrew Nardi<\/a> along with right-handed pitchers Michael Petersen<\/a>, Lake Bachar<\/a> and Tyler Zuber<\/a> (a non-roster invitee).\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Marlins will wind up using all of them over the course of the 2026 season. Determining who breaks camp with the big league club will be influenced by who can be relied on most to provide quality length.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t“Trying to get as many members down in that bullpen that potentially would break with us into a spot where they can go multiple innings\u2014they can go the 40-50 pitch range, if needed from them,” said manager Clayton McCullough on Friday. “We feel like we’re not there yet. We still have some decisions to be made here at the end with some, but we feel like that of those remaining in that mix for our ‘pen, that we have a high number of them that are going to give us that type of ability to go multiple innings.”\n<\/p>\n

\n\tGibson, Bachar and Petersen all threw in West Palm Beach on Friday, while Nardi threw in Jupiter.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tGibson struggled, unable to complete an inning, allowing two runs on three hits while recording one walk and one strikeout. Bachar, who followed Gibson, threw an inning, striking out two. The righty’s fastball topped out at 96.0 mph and averaged 95.5 mph (both personal bests for him during spring training). Both strikeouts came on his slider, which generated two whiffs. Petersen struggled as well, going one inning, walking two and striking out one.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t“(Gibson) and (Petersen) ran into some traffic, but fought through it,” said Marlins bench coach Carson Vitale following the game. “Thought they did a nice job. Lake was good tonight. It’s kind of the best version we’ve seen of him this spring. The velo was up, the strike zone was up, the two-k execution was really good. All three of them did a nice job tonight, but Lake stood out for sure.”\n<\/p>\n

\n\tAs for Nardi in Jupiter, he went one scoreless inning, walking and striking out one.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t“Very encouraging,” McCullough said. “I think we were optimistic coming into camp, not sure maybe what type of version we’d get. As the camp’s gone along, he’s handled everything that we’ve thrown at him. He’s filled up the strike zone, breaking balls have been good and we’re seeing the life of his fastball come back as he goes along.”\n<\/p>\n

\n\tIn 4 \u2153 innings of work this spring, Nardi has allowed just one hit in the process and struck out seven against two walks. He is making a strong case for the roster, but he was behind schedule compared to the other pitchers due to a blood blister issue. That may be used as a tiebreaker, giving the Marlins a reason to initially build him up in Triple-A Jacksonville.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Marlins’ Grapefruit League finale will be Sunday afternoon against the New York Mets. However, they will have a series of team workouts at loanDepot park from March 24-26, allowing them to gather even more information about these relievers if necessary.\n<\/p>\n

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