Germán

Márquez

Márquez appears penciled into San Diego’s season-opening rotation after another strong outing where he piled up a staggering 22 swinging strikes against a watered-down Seattle lineup. The 31-year-old’s track record away from Coors Field suggests he could be a decent streaming option in deeper fantasy leagues.

Márquez generated 13 swinging strikes and finished with a near-elite 35 percent CSW in this one as he continues to build a strong case for cracking San Diego’s season-opening rotation. His spot appears virtually locked up with fellow veteran Joe Musgrove (elbow) heading to the injured list at the outset of the year. He gave up only three hits with homers by Luke Raley and Colt Emerson accounting for most of the damage against him.

Márquez certainly isn’t overpowering anyone at this point of his career, so the free baserunners just can’t happen. Tonight, he put five guys on, including one that he hit with a pitch, and paid a very obvious price. He seemed like a good bet to be the Padres’ fifth starter when he signed last month, but the team should be able to do better.

The 31-year-old right-hander punched out three batters on the night and didn’t allow a base on balls. After struggling in his first spring start with the Cubs, Márquez flashed some legitimate upside in this one, getting four swings and misses on his 35 pitches while posting a CSW of 25 percent. If he winds up securing the final spot in the Padres’ rotation, it’s possible he could carve out some mixed league viability.

Márquez made his first start as a member of the Padres and celebrated it by pitching like he usually did with the Rockies. The 31-year-old will battle JP Sears and Randy Vásquez for the final spot in the San Diego rotation.

We’re not overly optimistic about Márquez’s chances of resembling an average MLB starter at this point, but the price is certainly right. He figures to have a good chance of overtaking Randy Vásquez or JP Sears for a spot in San Diego’s rotation, especially if Griffin Canning needs some IL time at the start of the year. Márquez went 3-16 with a 6.70 ERA for the Rockies last season in his first full year back from Tommy John. His velocity was down only about one mph from where he peaked at six years ago, but his secondary pitches just weren’t what they used to be.

It’s worth a reported $1.75 million. Márquez augments San Diego’s rotation depth as a reliable back-end stabilizer and innings-eater after spending the first decade of his career with the division-rival Rockies. The 30-year-old workhorse struggled to an unsightly 6.70 ERA — 5.77 xERA — 1.71 WHIP and 83/48 K/BB ratio across 126 1/3 innings during his return from Tommy John surgery last season. Getting out of Coors Field’s high-octane offensive environment is undoubtedly a positive development, but his lackluster strikeout rate keeps him off fantasy managers’ radar screens until further notice.

Mercifully, Márquez’s season is over. If only we could say the same for the Rockies. The right-hander finishes 2025 with an ugly — and deserved — 3-16 record with an ERA of 6.70. Some of this can be blamed on Coors Field. Much of it cannot. The Rockies can buy Márquez out of his contract for $2.5 million next year. It seems awfully likely. The question will be how many teams have even a semblance of interest in seeing if he can have success away from Colorado.

The 30-year-old right-hander punched out five batters on the night while issuing only one base on balls. All of the damage done against him came via the long ball with Taylor Ward swatting a solo homer in the second inning and Nolan Schanuel adding one of his own in the sixth. Márquez got 10 swings and misses on 84 pitches on the evening, registering a CSW of 32 percent. He’ll try to finish his 2025 season on a high note as he lugs a troublesome 6.49 ERA, 1.70 WHIP and 82/45 K/BB ratio (122 innings) into Friday’s divisional showdown against the Giants in San Francisco.

Márquez dropped to 3-14 with a 6.65 ERA. He’s 2-6 with a 6.82 ERA on the road, so he can’t even blame Coors Field. The Rockies will probably still have some interest in bringing him back next year, but if he wants to revive his career, he’d probably be better off elsewhere, even if he might have to settle for a minor league contract.