Padres Notes: Pitcher Suddenly Retires, SD Star Praises Dodgers, Surprise Luis Arraez Comments

The San Diego Padres lost, 9-3, to the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday night, falling to 1-4 early in the 2026 season. Right-handed pitcher Germán Márquez struggled in his Padres debut, allowing four earned runs on eight hits across three innings. Kyle Hart allowed four runs in relief, putting the game out of reach by the sixth inning.

In other news, a Padres minor league pitcher suddenly retired this week at 27 years old. The right-hander has spent four seasons in the Padres organization and was set to open the 2026 season in Triple-A.

Additionally, a San Diego pitcher recently praised the Los Angeles Dodgers, defending them against the narrative that they're ruining baseball. That pitcher happened to spend the first 10 years of his professional career with the Dodgers.

“I don’t think they are ruining baseball in any form,” Walker Buehler said to Michael Duarte of the California Post. “The way the Dodgers are operating now is so much closer to how 29 other owners could act.”

“The spending of free agents is the rising of the tide, maybe LA had to be the first to do it, but 29 other teams need to follow suit just like they did with the development in the minor leagues,” he added. “There are some cities that can make the argument that they don’t have the money, but I think 25 other owners do.”

Finally, Giants second baseman Luis Arraez made some surprising comments during his return to San Diego this week. He revealed that the Padres wanted to bring him back in free agency, but he chose the Giants because they offered him the opportunity to play second base.

“They [called] me a lot; we talked a lot,” Arraez said of the padres. “Yes, they [wanted] to sign me back, but I want to go back to second base. I think it’s a big opportunity for me, for my family. And then, I mean, I signed here for one year. I don’t know what [will happen] later.”

Here’s more information on these stories and all the latest Padres news (click the headline for the full article):

Padres Pitcher Suddenly Retires at 27 Years Old

Padres Star Praises Dodgers Spending, Defends LA Against 'Ruining Baseball' Narrative

Luis Arraez Says Padres Wanted Him Back, But He Chose Giants for One Specific Reason

Padres City Connect Jersey Debut Date Officially Revealed

Padres Starter Turning Heads With Major Velocity Increase, Instant Results

Padres' Mason Miller Makes Hilarious Admission About Viral Walkout Music

Padres Tweets of the Day

Final. pic.twitter.com/RBsA8Lo0qi
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) April 1, 2026

Craig Stammen was asked if he would have liked to have seen Fernando Tatis Jr. challenge the 2-1 pitch in the 9th inning of last night's game and what kind of strategy he preaches for using ABS challenges: pic.twitter.com/Rp9HFhig22
— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) March 31, 2026

Griffin Canning threw a three-inning sim game yesterday at Lake Elsinore. He’ll start Saturday in Tulsa for @missionsmilb. https://t.co/Ql8TPh4EfR
— Jeff Sanders (@sdutSanders) March 31, 2026