Veteran Pitcher Cut By Padres Signs With Twins Days After Release

The 31-year-old had a 5.26 ERA when he was designated for assignment.

Jul 12, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres pitcher Germán Márquez (33) delivers during the first inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Germán Márquez, who had a 5.26 ERA in 13 games with the San Diego Padres when he was designated for assignment on Aug. 5, signed a minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins.

#MNTwins signed pitcher Germàn Màrquez to a minor league deal.

— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) August 13, 2026

The Padres released Márquez on Aug. 8. He is eligible to pitch for the Twins in the postseason regardless of whether he is added to their major league roster between now and the end of the regular season.

Márquez, 31, spent 10 seasons in the Colorado Rockies organization, from 2016-25. Now he'll have pitched for two different organizations in the span of one season.

The Padres deemed Márquez expendable after they were able to acquire veteran right-hander Casey Mize and left-hander Robbie Ray in separate deadline-day trades with the Detroit Tigers and San Francisco Giants, respectively.

Certainly Márquez had done little in his 13 games (10 starts) to give the Padres faith that he could get them into the postseason, let alone start a game in October.

Opponents had a .519 slugging percentage Márquez, the second-worst of any Padres starter at the time he was DFA'd. His 19% whiff rate was also the second-lowest in the rotation. The only pitcher who had performed worse in the two categories was right-hander Matt Waldron, who was also cut.

Of the 233 major league pitchers who have thrown at least 50 innings this season, Márquez's 5.69 ERA ranks 222nd.

The final straw for Márquez: a relief appearance against Arizona on Aug. 4 when he allowed four hits, including two home runs, and walked a batter while recording only three outs. That blow-up saw his ERA rise from 4.67 to 5.26. Ray took Márquez's place on the active roster the following day.

The Padres won that game — the Arizona Diamondbacks got two hits against starter Randy Vásquez and two other relievers in a 9-4 loss — but for Márquez the damage was done.

With the Twins (or their Triple-A affiliate, at least), Márquez will try to rediscover the form that allowed him to go 62-53 with a 4.38 ERA (112 ERA+) from 2017-22 with the Rockies.

This is the first time Márquez has pitched for an American League franchise since he and Jake McGee were traded by the Tampa Bay Rays to Colorado in the January 2016 deal that sent Corey Dickerson and Kevin Padlo to the Rockies.

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