Elbow discomfort sidelines Luzardo. Where he and the Marlins’ rotation now stand

Already without three key members of their starting rotation, the Marlins lost another Friday when Jesus Luzardo was shelved from his start against Washington because of an elbow issue.

Per a source, Luzardo felt left elbow discomfort during a throwing session on Thursday. The club announced he will undergo further testing.

The Marlins called up right-hander Anthony Maldonado from Triple A Jacksonville to start against Washington on Friday.

This season, Luzardo has a 6.58 ERA in five starts, an 0-2 record and 37 base-runners allowed in 26 innings.

He has permitted five home runs in those 26 innings and hasn’t pitched nearly as well as last season, when he had a 3.58 ERA (and a 10-10 record) in 32 starts.

Last season, he was seventh in the National League in strikeouts with 208, eighth in ERA and sixth in wins over replacement (4.0).

The Marlins fielded trade inquiries on Luzardo during the offseason but ultimately opted not to deal him. Luzardo, 26, is under team control through 2026.

The Marlins also remain without ace Sandy Alcantara and prized prospect Eury Perez, who will both miss the season after Tommy John surgery. Braxton Garrett, who was 9-7 with a 3.66 ERA last season, hasn’t pitched this season because of shoulder issues that surfaced early in spring training.

Garrett threw a 25-pitch side session Tuesday and is scheduled to throw about 60 pitches or four innings on Friday with Triple-A Jacksonville. After dealing with a pinched nerve in his left (throwing) shoulder during spring training, Garrett was on pace to return to the big-league rotation by late April before “dead arm” delayed his return.

Luzardo’s injury and A.J. Puk’s move to the bullpen after a rocky performance as a starter leaves the Marlins with a rotation of Trevor Rogers, Ryan Weathers, Edward Cabrera and two open spots.

Sixto Sanchez, making his first start since 2020, allowed three runs in 2 2/23 innings against the Braves on Wednesday. It’s unclear if he will get another start.

Max Meyer, the Marlins’ most effective starting pitcher early in the season, was sent to Triple A earlier this month so the Marlins could monitor his innings coming off Tommy John surgery.

Maldonado, who’s starting Friday, is ranked by MLB.com as the Marlins’ No. 18 prospect. This season, his eight appearances have all come out of the bullpen, and he has a 3-0 record and 2.31 ERA in 11 ⅔ innings.

He was a standout at Bethune-Cookman, and the Marlins initially moved him to the bullpen immediately after drafting him in the 11th round in 2019. Last season, he had a 1.76 ERA with 71 strikeouts in 46 innings before a hip injury sidelined him last July.

MLB.com said of Maldonado: “He might have gotten called up at midseason if he hadn’t injured his hip in late June. There’s no secret about Maldonado’s strategy on the mound: he’s going to attack hitters with his slider. He throws it about two-thirds of the time, and it rarely gets hit because it’s an 83-85 mph beast with two-plane depth that generated outlandish swing-and-miss [57 percent] and chase [47 percent] rates in 2023. Even when he gets around his slider, it’s effective with cutter-like action and reaches as high as 92 mph.

“Maldonado sets up his slider with a fringy low-90s sinker that elicits groundballs but doesn’t miss a lot of bats. He does a better job of getting chases with his slide piece than landing it for strikes, and he has below-average control and command of his fastball. Added to the 40-man roster last November, he’ll have to prove he can succeed with one quality pitch in the Majors, but it has worked well for him to this point.”

Craig Mish is the Herald’s senior baseball correspondent. Follow him at @CraigMish and follow Barry Jackson at @flasportsbuzz.