Padres Sign Marco Gonzales - What He Still Brings After an Injury-Filled Run

Gonzales will be in the mix for a spot in the starting rotation. He’s not a star, but he brings 10 seasons of MLB experience and has shown stretches of quality production in the past. His longest run came during a seven-year stint with the Mariners from 2017 to 2023, where he started 148 games and posted solid results.

From 2018 to 2022, Gonzales logged 765.2 innings with a respectable 3.94 ERA, a 4.35 FIP and 9.5 WAR. That stretch included a two-year peak from 2019 to 2020, when he emerged as one of the better pitchers in the American League West.

In 2019, Gonzales led MLB with 34 starts, topped 200 innings, won 16 games and posted a 3.99 ERA. He followed that with a strong Covid season, finishing 7-2 with a 3.11 ERA across 69.2 innings. Over that span, he also produced the league’s best walk rate at 0.9 per nine innings and strikeout-to-walk ratio at 9.14.

Unfortunately, injuries derailed Gonzales beginning in 2023. After the best run of his career, he dealt with forearm nerve issues and underwent the first surgery of his career. He briefly returned in 2024 before straining his forearm in April, bouncing on and off the injured list for several months. Gonzales ultimately underwent left forearm flexor tendon surgery in September 2024 after attempting to pitch through discomfort.

He did not pitch at all in 2025 and has made just 17 starts since the beginning of the 2023 season.

While his injury history raises significant concerns about what he can provide in 2026, this represents a low-risk, high-reward move for the Padres. Gonzales will only cost the team money if he makes the MLB roster, and with a $1.5 million salary, it won’t meaningfully impact payroll even if he does.

As currently constructed, San Diego’s rotation is led by four right-handers - Nick Pivetta, Michael King, Joe Musgrove and Randy Vásquez. J.P. Sears is the lone lefty at the back end after finishing 2025 with a 5.04 ERA and a 5.21 FIP. Gonzales gives the Padres a sixth option to protect against continued struggles from Sears or injuries elsewhere in the rotation.

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