The San Diego Padres and starting pitcher German Marquez are reportedly in agreement on a one-year contract, according to Alden Gonzalez of ESPN. It has been a busy Saturday for the Padres, who already agreed to contracts with Nick Castellanos and Griffin Canning earlier in the day.
Marquez is a 30-year-old pitcher who previously spent his entire career with the Colorado Rockies. He made his big league debut in 2016. Despite up and down overall results, Marquez was quite durable from 2017-2022. He made at least 28 starts in each of those seasons (aside from the shortened 2020 campaign — where he still led the league with 13 starts).
In 2021, Marquez made the All-Star team. His career 4.67 ERA does not stand out, but Marquez was better than the numbers may suggest, especially considering the fact that he's been pitching at Coors Field for his career.
Marquez was limited to five total starts from 2023-2024 due to injury. He returned in 2025 and pitched to a lackluster 6.70 ERA. One has to imagine Marquez will pitch at a more respectable level in 2026, however. Not only is he now away from the challenging elevation of Colorado, but Marquez is not fresh off an injury-plagued season.
The Padres are looking to compete once again in 2026. They have a talented roster, and San Diego will likely make a National League Wild Card run at the very least. Of course, competing for the NL West title with the Los Angeles Dodgers will be an extremely difficult challenge.
Bringing in a veteran like German Marquez will only help the Padres, however.
