Marlins lefty Andrew Nardi will undergo elbow surgery, manager Clayton McCullough told reporters on Monday (link via Corey Seidman of MLB.com). That’ll obviously end his 2026 season and, depending on the nature of the procedure, is likely to impact next year as well.
The news comes as a surprise considering Nardi wasn’t previously known to be dealing with an elbow issue. The southpaw has been on the injured list since late May with a stress reaction in his ribcage. Nardi apparently hurt the elbow after starting a throwing program in recent weeks. McCullough didn’t provide details on the forthcoming procedure beyond noting that Nardi is “looking at a lengthy time away.”
Any kind of ligament repair would likely cost him all of 2027. A full Tommy John surgery would certainly rule him out for next year. Even an internal brace procedure would come with a 12-14 month recovery timeline that might cost him all of next season. The Marlins will likely provide more specifics once the operation takes place.
Nardi is a talented reliever who has had a rough stretch of injury luck. He dealt with a muscular issue in his elbow late in 2024, ending his season in August. Recurring lower back pain cost him all of last year. Then came the rib issue and now a seemingly more serious elbow problem. Nardi has allowed over five earned runs per nine over the past couple seasons but had a 2.67 ERA across 57 1/3 frames back in 2023. He struck out 31% of opponents that season and has continued to miss bats at an above-average rate even as his run prevention marks have climbed.
The Marlins already moved Nardi to the 60-day injured list in early June. He’ll remain there for the rest of the season. There’s a decent chance they’ll run him through waivers at the beginning of the offseason rather than reinstating him onto the 40-man roster. Nardi has crossed the four-year service threshold and is eligible for arbitration for two seasons after this one. He’s barely making more than the league minimum, but the Fish may prefer to have the open roster spot over the winter if the injury will cost him most or all of next season.
Miami’s bullpen held up reasonably well early on despite an up-and-down performance from Pete Fairbanks. Although their closer has been much sharper of late, the middle relief group has started to get exposed. That’s particularly true from the left side, where both John King and Cade Gibson have had ugly second halves. The Fish should be looking for depth options for the stretch run and could stand to upgrade there over the winter.
