The Padres’ offseason rotation bets have not paid off, and Germán Márquez became the latest one to wash out.
San Diego signed the 11-year veteran to a one-year deal worth $1.75 million, hoping a move away from Coors Field would help him rediscover the form that once made him an All-Star in 2021. Instead, Márquez was moved out of the rotation, designated for assignment on Wednesday to clear space for left-hander Robbie Ray, and then officially released to free agency this weekend.
The Padres were trying to patch together their starting staff with low-cost additions, but the results have been uneven at best. Walking Buehler has remained in the rotation all year, posting a 5.07 ERA over 108.1 innings, while Griffin Canning has struggled to a 6.65 ERA and has also been shifted to the bullpen after signing a one-year deal that guaranteed $4.25 million.
Márquez arrived in San Diego with a resume built over 10 years in the National League West with the Colorado Rockies. In 203 career appearances, including 200 starts, he carried a 4.67 ERA into the season. But after finishing 2025 with a 6.70 ERA in 26 starts, the Padres never got the stabilizing presence they were chasing.
His time in San Diego was a roller coaster from the start. In his first, third and fifth outings, he gave up four earned runs each time. In his second and fourth starts, though, he flashed the kind of swing-and-miss life the Padres were hoping for, throwing a combined 10.2 scoreless innings.
The bottom fell out in his sixth start, when he allowed seven runs on five hits and five walks over five innings. Soon after, forearm nerve inflammation sent him to the injured list for two months.
Márquez came back on July 2 and pitched three innings out of the bullpen. After that, he started four straight games, though he only finished five innings once during San Diego’s “pitching chaos” approach.
His second-to-last appearance was a bright spot in an otherwise rough stretch. He threw five shutout innings in relief and picked up a rare five-inning save.
But his final outing turned ugly on Aug. 4 against the Arizona Diamondbacks, when he gave up four runs in one inning. That was the end of the line with the Padres.
Now 31, Márquez will look for another opportunity in free agency. A real contender is hard to picture giving him that chance right away based on this season’s results, so a minor league deal later this month or in the offseason seems more likely.
San Diego, meanwhile, will absorb the rest of his salary as it turns to trade deadline additions Ray and Casey Mize to help sort out the rotation.
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