Quantrill signing provides depth, veteran presence

JUPITER, Fla. -- After losing Jes¨²s Luzardo via trade and Braxton Garrett to season-ending UCL surgery, the Marlins added much-needed depth to their rotation by signing veteran right-hander Cal Quantrill to a one-year deal on Wednesday afternoon.

To clear room on their 40-man roster, the Marlins placed Garrett on the 60-day injured list.

"We've had discussions with a lot of players over the entire winter, and we were able to make this come together now in a way that works for us and for Cal," president of baseball operations Peter Bendix said. "Very excited to add him to the team."

Quantrill, who arrived in South Florida on Wednesday night, was at camp on Thursday morning participating in the club's second workout for pitchers and catchers this spring. Manager Clayton McCullough anticipated the 30-year-old would spend time getting acclimated to his new organization while the pitching staff built out a throwing plan and progression for him.

"I've been doing it long enough," Quantrill said. "I knew what I needed to do to be prepared for spring. In the past, I have trained at facilities when I've been signed, but I knew what I wanted to do and where I needed to be by kind of Feb. 10, 11. As we got to the end of the offseason, I felt like this was the spot I wanted to be. This was the opportunity I liked the most. And we were able to get it done in the last couple days. I'm ready to rock and be on the mound soon."

The son of former Major League pitcher Paul Quantrill, whose 14-year career came to a close on the 2005 Marlins ballclub, Cal was selected by the Padres as the eighth overall pick in the 2016 Draft. The right-hander made his MLB debut for San Diego in May 2019, proceeding to post a 5.16 ERA over 23 appearances (18 starts). On Aug. 31, 2020, he was dealt to Cleveland as part of the deal that sent Mike Clevinger to San Diego.

Quantrill was very good for Cleveland over his first two full seasons with the club, pitching to a 3.16 ERA over 336 innings. But he struggled in 2023, dealing with shoulder inflammation that limited him to 19 starts over which he had a 5.24 ERA. That offseason, the Guardians traded Quantrill to Colorado.

The Rockies inserted Quantrill into their rotation after injuries to Germ¨¢n M¨¢rquez and Antonio Senzatela threatened to sideline them for most or all of the upcoming season. Over his first two starts with his new club, Quantrill was hit hard for nine runs over nine innings. But from there, he was excellent over his next 12 outings, posting a 2.57 ERA over 70 innings.

Quantrill¡¯s season went south after that -- the rest of the way, he had a 6.88 ERA in 15 starts. Notably, outside of two home outings in which he gave up six runs apiece, his ERA at Coors Field in 2024 was 3.88. His splitter, which he used 32% of the time last season, was a big part of his success at Coors, inducing a lot of ground balls in the hitter-friendly park. Overall, opponents hit .206 against the pitch.

"Really, really good first half," Quantrill said. "I think the pitch mix was good. The preparation was excellent. We got to the second half [with triceps tendinitis], nothing to be worried about. It kind of just got me a little off kilter, went away from some of the stuff that was working so effectively in the first half.

"I didn't finish the season exactly how I wanted, but I did finish healthy. Did learn some things pitching at altitude and pitching in a good division. This is a really good division as well, [so I'm] more prepared for this year."

The Rockies non-tendered Quantrill given their expectation that M¨¢rquez and Senzatela, as well as Kyle Freeland, will be healthy to start the 2025 campaign. Pitchers on the market who are coming off a stint in Colorado can be wild cards of sorts, given that their numbers can be somewhat skewed by pitching half the season at altitude.

As he enters his age-30 campaign in 2025, Quantrill looks to regain the form he had from 2021-22 with Cleveland. Miami is hoping Quantrill does just that since its rotation behind ace Sandy Alcantara is inexperienced. Top starting-pitching options Edward Cabrera, Ryan Weathers, Max Meyer and Valente Bellozo have not thrown at least 100 innings in an MLB season -- something Quantrill has done four times.

"Very important," Bendix said of the veteran pitcher's workload. "I think that he's demonstrated that he can do that. He can throw 180 innings in a season. That's a rare skill. It's hard to find, especially these days, and it's something that's going to be really helpful for us."