Ronny Henriquez Undergoes UCL Surgery

Marlins breakout righty Ronny Henriquez underwent UCL reconstruction with an internal brace, reports MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola. He’ll miss the entire 2026 season. Miami subsequently announced the news and added that he’s expected to be ready for Spring Training in 2027.

Henriquez was an excellent waiver pickup during the 2024-25 offseason. The Fish grabbed him out of DFA limbo from the Twins in February. Henriquez was coming off an impressive Triple-A season but hadn’t missed many bats in 19 career big league appearances. He was an intriguing flier as a 25-year-old former prospect of note who sat around 96 MPH with his fastball.

Miami needed to carry Henriquez on the active roster, as he’s out of minor league options. It didn’t take long for him to emerge as one of Clayton McCullough’s most trusted arms. Henriquez reeled off 73 innings of 2.22 ERA ball over 69 appearances. He picked up seven saves and 26 holds while only blowing four leads. He punched out 32.4% of batters faced behind a massive 16.7% swinging strike percentage. Henriquez ranked among the game’s top 20 relievers (minimum 50 innings) in strikeouts and whiff rate.

Henriquez added a tick to his fastball and took a little off his slider. He spun the breaking ball at a higher rate and got a little more depth on what emerged as a plus pitch. He showed no signs of slowing down towards the end of the season, turning in a 1.61 ERA in 28 innings after the All-Star Break. That came on his heaviest workload since he moved to the bullpen during the ’22 campaign.

Miami only had two relievers with 20+ innings who struck out at least a quarter of opponents: Henriquez and Lake Bachar. They had five bullpen arms who managed a sub-3.00 ERA but need to miss more bats as a group. Miami relievers were 24th in strikeout rate and swinging strikes. They’ve been linked to free agent righty Pete Fairbanks a few times this offseason. His strikeout numbers have declined over the past couple seasons, but even his 24% rate of the last two years would make him one of their best swing-and-miss arms.

Henriquez can be placed on the 60-day injured list once Spring Training begins. He’ll collect a full service year and be paid around the $780K minimum. He’s unlikely to meet next winter’s Super Two cutoff, meaning he’ll be slated for another league minimum salary in 2027. He’s under club control through 2030.