Eleven seasons in the Major Leagues and a 4.70 ERA are quite far from telling the true story of Venezuelan right-hander Germán Márquez. It would be enough to remember that he faced 2,382 batters and made 96 starts for the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field, the hitters’ paradise in the Majors.
Among the only four pitchers who have faced more than 2,300 batters at Coors Field—Jorge De La Rosa (2,512), Kyle Freeland (2,984) and Aaron Cook (2,931)—Márquez (2016-2025) recorded the lowest on-base percentage (.335) and the highest SO/BB rate (3.12). His best season was back in 2018 when he struck out 230 batters and posted 4.1 fWAR.
A lot has happened since then.
Márquez, 31, represents the archetype of the starting pitcher who is fighting to rebuild his identity in the Major Leagues after going through the devastating impact of injuries and Tommy John surgery.
His fastball still gets close to 95 mph (he has averaged 94.7 mph this season) and the mix of his slider and knuckle curve can still sustain his repertoire. His 105 Stuff+ has made the knuckle curve his best weapon, but his 21.5% career strikeout rate has seen a gradual drop over the last two seasons to 14.0% in 2025 and 15.7% in 2026, respectively.
The Velocity Is There, but the Strikeouts Have Disappeared
With the risk of getting fewer whiffs% and allowing more balls put in play, Márquez’s inconsistencies caused the San Diego Padres to designate him for assignment.
He will have another opportunity.
Márquez signed a minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins on Thursday, including invitations to Triple-A St. Paul and opt-out clauses for the end of August and September.
The move is reasonable. Minnesota is looking for replacement options at a critical moment, with a Major League rotation hit by the injuries of Joe Ryan, Pablo López, David Festa, Mick Abel and Mike Paredes, leaving all the weight of the starting rotation on Taj Bradley, Connor Prielipp, Dean Kremer, Bailey Ober and Zebby Matthews.
Now, the question here is how much Márquez could help in the rotation or bullpen. Márquez’s decline (who posted a 5.26 ERA in 13 appearances this year in San Diego and a catastrophic 6.70 last year in Colorado) has been the closest version of his decline after missing practically all of the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
In 36 starts during the last two seasons, Márquez has a combined record of 7-18 with a 6.27 ERA, 5.80 FIP and 1.9 HR/9, while his SO/BB rate has fallen from 2.63 in his last three full seasons (2020-2022) to 1.67.
He has also raised his walk rate to 10.2%, which exposes his pitches to the middle of the plate. The big problem has not been the walks themselves, but the ability Márquez has lost to strike hitters out.
This season, he is allowing the highest OPS (.709) of his career when he is ahead in the count. This is added to the alarming inability to dominate left-handed hitters, against whom he allows a .396 wOBA and a 51.6% Hard-Hit% rate.
Minnesota Wants To Find Out How Much Is Left of Márquez
Look, it is understandable that the Twins are looking for some reinforcements. It is clear that Márquez’s arrival in Minnesota is not to save the rotation and it would be absurd to expect the most dominant version of his glory years at Coors Field.
At this point, they do not have much to lose, and who knows if they can gain. Márquez is not completely finished. The Twins will surely try to find out if the Triple-A coaching staff can correct the cracks in the command of an arm that has still shown some flashes of caliber.
Minnesota does not have many options left, and Márquez knows that he has to take advantage of what could be one of his last opportunities in the Major Leagues.
All statistics were verified using Statcast from Baseball Savant.
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