Marlins DFA Former Top Prospect Pitcher
Reliever William Kempner has been recalled from Triple-A Jacksonville as a placeholder, and a starting pitcher will be promoted in the coming days to fill Paddack's rotation spot for Friday's game against the Washington Nationals.
Paddack finished with a 7.63 ERA, a 1.66 WHIP, and a .308 average against across 30.2 innings in his seven appearances, going 0-5 in his six starts and failing to complete five innings in four of them.
The Marlins fell to 0-6 in his first six starts, only the fourth time in franchise history that a newcomer has produced that result.
His final outing Sunday against the Phillies was the breaking point, allowing six runs in 2.2 innings while his four-seam fastball velocity dropped to 91.3 mph, the lowest average velocity he has posted in any game across eight big league seasons.
The Marlins evaluated him for a potential injury Monday and found nothing structural to justify an IL stint.
Manager Clayton McCullough said after the game Sunday that Paddack would make his next start. By Tuesday morning, he was designated for assignment instead.
A Career That Never Recovered Its Promise
Paddack's story is one of the more melancholy in recent baseball memory given how dominant his debut season was.
He posted a 3.33 ERA across 140.2 innings for the 2019 Padres, a performance that would have made him a Rookie of the Year finalist in almost any other season, but he happened to debut the same year Pete Alonso hit 53 home runs and Michael Soroka threw 174 innings of 2.68 ERA ball.
Two Tommy John surgeries followed, the second of which cost him almost all of 2022 and 2023 before a brief return with the Twins late in 2023 showed flashes of the pitcher he had been, posting a 14-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 8.2 innings between the regular season and playoffs.
The Marlins have designated RHP Chris Paddack for assignment.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) May 5, 2026
He never built on that.
Minnesota struggled to deploy him effectively, and after a trade to Detroit last summer he was shifted to a bullpen long man role that did not suit him, posting ugly numbers before the Tigers moved on.
Miami signed him to a one-year, $4 million deal in February, and Paddack was openly emotional about finally wearing a Marlins uniform for the first time after being drafted by and immediately traded away from the organization a decade earlier.
The results made that narrative feel crueler by the week.
What Comes Next for Miami
The Marlins' rotation problem has an exciting solution sitting in Triple-A Jacksonville, and the DFA has created the opening to deploy it.
Braxton Garrett holds a 1.71 ERA and a 0.68 WHIP in five starts for the Jumbo Shrimp this season, including a stretch of 16 consecutive hitless innings that culminated in a no-hitter on April 21.
He lost out on a Opening Day roster spot while working back from Tommy John surgery but has a proven track record at the big league level, carrying a 3.63 ERA across 47 starts from 2022 through 2023 before the injuries derailed his availability.
We’ve made the following roster moves: pic.twitter.com/QRQtJYC0tC
— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) May 5, 2026
Robby Snelling is the more explosive name.
The 22-year-old ranks as Miami's No. 2 prospect and No. 33 overall per MLB Pipeline, and has posted a 1.86 ERA with a 0.90 WHIP and 44 strikeouts across six Jacksonville starts this season.
He is not yet on the 40-man roster, but Paddack's DFA has created an open spot.
Per multiple Miami reporters, both pitchers are legitimate options for Friday, and whichever one gets the call will represent an upgrade over what the Marlins have been putting out in that rotation slot.
Photo Credit: Rhona Wise-Imagn Images
