Former San Diego Padres starter German Marquez has agreed to a minor league deal with the Minnesota Twins, according to a report from Darragh McDonald of MLBTradeRumors.com that referenced additional reporting from Bobby Nightengale of the Minnesota Star Tribune that has Marquez reporting to Triple-A St. Paul.
The Padres designated Marquez for assignment as part of the flurry of pitching moves they made at the trade deadline. Marquez was once a reliable starter, and according to McDonald he logged 975-1/3 innings from 2017-2022, which was sixth most in the majors during that time span. His ERA of 4.38 doesn’t look great, but Marquez was also pitching for the Colorado Rockies, which means he made half his starts at Coors Field.
But Marquez had Tommy John surgery that wiped out most of his 2023 and 2024 seasons, and last year he wound up with a 6.70, which is ugly even for the Rockies.
The Padres took a flyer on Marquez, as McDonald put it, and while he did have a few decent moments in San Diego, his results kept getting worse, and when his ERA rose to 5.26, they released him after 13 appearances. His walk rate of 10.2 percent was high compared to his career norms, while his strikout rate of 15.7 percent was lower.
San Diego was only paying Marquez $1.75 million, and there’s absolutely no risk for the Twins to be giving him an analogous flyer given that the Padres are on the hook for the rest of his salary.
The Twins rotation has taken some hits, so Marqez will probably be cast in a similar role. Joe Ryan just went on the IL, and he’s got plenty of company, including Pablo Lopez, David Festa, Mick Abel and Make Paredes. Marquez might not be in the mix immediately, but if there’s another injury or a spot start available, he could be the man.
The Padres have moved on, and they’ll see Marquez in the rear view as a failed experiment in a series of desperate moves. The only one that’s worked was Walker Buehler, who’s turned into a mostly reliable starter, but Griffin Canning is on the ropes as a low-leverage long man after several bad starts and relief experiences sent his ERA soaring.
San Diego is in a different place now, with a real rotation after training for Casey Mize and Robbie Ray. There are still plenty of kinks to be worked out, but the Padres are also involved in a 43-game sprint to the finish and a possible playoff berth.