Padres give Germán Márquez a new role with bullpen suddenly under pressure

Germán Márquez is in an interesting position. Where he stands, San Diego Padres fans may wind up loving him for his heroics, or resenting him for what could easily be a failure.

Before his relief outing on July 2, Márquez had not come out of the bullpen since 2016. That's a decade's worth of cementing himself as a starting pitcher. But, the time's are changing. And most importantly, the Friars need another arm in the bullpen. The always reliable Jason Adam is headed back to the injured list, joining 2025 breakout David Morgan on the shelf.

Despite his inexperience, and his return from his own injury, Germán Márquez is going to come out of the bullpen. He's willing to do whatever it takes to help the Padres win, but let's be very clear here: There is little room for him to adjust to the bullpen, whether it's fair or not.

Germán Márquez's first relief outing didn't settle Padres fans' nerves about his move to the bullpen

After missing two months of MLB action, Márquez made his first relief outing in 10 years on July 2. Of course, it had to be on the road against the Dodgers. Kyle Tucker quickly welcomed him back with a lead-off double in the sixth inning off a hanging knuckle-curve. Tucker would come in to score.

Márquez's fastball was lively, but that was really all we saw from him in his return from the IL. He showed some length out of the bullpen, throwing three innings. But he walked three batters and allowed two runs on two hits. So it wasn't necessarily a night worth celebrating Márquez's comeback.

Maybe it was him getting acclimated into a new role. Maybe it was him pitching against a great team. Regardless, more outings like this one cannot be afforded by Márquez. We know it's unfair to him, but he is taking on the weight that two strong relievers held before getting hurt. If Márquez can't prove to be a good reliever, then there might not be room for him on this team. But if he can succeed within the new role with this added pressure, Padres fans will love him like they do every other reliever.

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