Miami Marlins pitcher Andrew Nardi (43) pitches against the Colorado Rockies in the eighth inning of their MLB game at loanDepot park on Friday, March 27, 2026, in Miami, Fla.
Photo by Matias J. Ocner
mocner@miamiherald.com
Andrew Nardi wasn’t sure what the emotions would be like when he got the call from the bullpen. It had been so long since he’d been in a game, so long since he felt like himself, that he couldn’t gather the thoughts to properly process what might happen.
More than a year and a half of injuries — first to his left elbow that cut his 2024 season short and then a slew of back problems that wiped out his entire 2025 campaign — cast doubt about what his baseball future might hold.
“I mean, there was no light at the end of the tunnel,” Nardi told the Miami Herald. “I mean, I was fighting every day to just try to find something to help.”
Nardi’s long journey back to an MLB mound became complete Friday, 583 days since his last big-league appearance, when he got two strikeouts in the eighth inning of the Miami Marlins’ 2-1 win over the Colorado Rockies on Opening Day at loanDepot park.
The left-handed reliever threw 11 high-leverage pitches, striking out Braxton Fulford swinging with a 95.6 mph four-seam fastball and Ryan Ritter with a 94.5 mph fastball while also getting four swings and misses with his slider. Kyle Karros hit a first-pitch single in between those strikeouts.
“Adrenaline took over,” Nardi said postgame. “A little jittery, but super excited, locked in, just ready to go.”
Miami Marlins pitcher Andrew Nardi (43) is substituted by manager Clayton McCullough (86) after pitching against the Colorado Rockies in the eighth inning of their MLB game at loanDepot park on Friday, March 27, 2026, in Miami, Fla. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com
The relief on his face after the game was evident. The fact that he was even here for Opening Day is a testament to the work he put in.
Nardi wasn’t shy about admitting how tough the recovery process was both physically and mentally. The injuries impacted more than just his ability to play baseball.
“Honestly, it was pretty bad,” Nardi said. “I mean, as much as it was physically painful, mentally, I was struggling every day trying to get back to being healthy and feeling good. I couldn’t even do just normal day life things without being hurt — sit down, stand up, walk, anything. But I’m just glad I stayed positive as much as I could be and stuck with it.”
Nardi, who made his MLB debut late in 2022 but really broke in as a high-leverage reliever for the Marlins during the 2023 season when Miami made the playoffs, found a few rehab processes that helped him tremendously. A family friend recommended he see a postural restorationist, which he said was the first major step toward helping him throw comfortably again. He started doing Pilates at his wife’s convincing.
“Thankfully, I found something that stuck,” Nardi said.
Nardi then showed in spring training he was healthy enough to break camp with the team. He struck out nine batters over 5 1/3 scoreless innings in five Grapefruit League appearances. His velocity ticked up enough and his command was in a solid enough place that the Marlins penciled him into their bullpen to start the season.
And on Friday, he made his return.
“It’s the human side of this that you see,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said postgame Friday. “Last year, it was a difficult stretch for him, working as hard as he could to try to get back. Unfortunately it didn’t happen, but he’s continued to stick with it, and we continued to see, as spring training went along, that Andrew was very much trending up and looked like he was in a great spot. You get a shot of adrenaline tonight. He had his first major league game in quite a while. The velo was outstanding and stuff was really played well. That’s Andrew. Has been a very good pitcher in this league, a very good left-handed reliever. So I’m fairly excited for how he pitched tonight. We needed it to help us win. But more importantly, for him to be able to step back on a major-league mound with what he went through, and be able to do that tonight was great.”
The journey back to the mound is complete, but Nardi’s full journey is just beginning. After having the sport he loved taken away from him for so long, he’s not taking the opportunity in front of him for granted.
“Honestly,” Nardi said, “it just kind of opened my mind where, ‘Hey, not everything’s gonna last forever, so I need to enjoy every moment possible.’”
This story was originally published March 28, 2026 at 9:08 AM.
.JPG)
Miami Herald
Jordan McPherson covers the Miami Hurricanes and Florida Panthers for the Miami Herald. He attended the University of Florida and covered the Gators athletic program for five years before joining the Herald staff in December 2017.