Josh Ekness

August 25, 2026

Could be in saves mix

Ekness could be part of a closing committee for the Marlins if Pete Fairbanks (hand) requires another IL stint, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

Analysis

Fairbanks left Monday's game with a recurrence of a nerve issue in his pitching hand, a condition which first landed him on the IL in late April. Ekness, who worked the eighth inning Monday but got charged with a blown save after allowing the tying run in an eventual 4-2 loss to the Red Sox, figures to be in the mix for closing opportunities in Fairbanks' absence, along with Michael Petersen and Calvin Faucher. "I think we'll just go into each day with -- on the pitching side -- what we have available and kind of what we can ask of them, and where we think it's the best place to go put guys," manager Clayton McCullough said after Monday's game. "[The] good thing is that a number of our guys have experienced pitching in a lot of different spots. So I think we'll just lean on that and go out there with the ones that we have available each day." Through his first 15 appearances and 16 big-league innings this season, Ekness has a 1.69 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 11:7 K:BB with one win, one save and one hold.