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The Padres took a low-risk swing on Marco Gonzales over the winter. It went nowhere, and nobody who watched him pitch for El Paso should be surprised. However, the veteran left-hander has found his way back to the major leagues, just not in San Diego.
The Texas Rangers selected Gonzales’ contract on July 21, giving the 34-year-old his first major-league opportunity since 2024. The promotion arrives barely one month after the Padres released him from his minor-league contract.
The Friars signed Gonzales to provide rotation depth, but he never forced his way into the conversation. He posted a 7.99 ERA and a 2.03 WHIP over 47 1/3 innings with Triple-A El Paso. Opponents hit .373 against him while piling up 78 hits in 13 appearances.
No organization trying to contend could justify promoting Gonzales based on that performance. The Padres released him on June 16, and the Rangers saw something worth salvaging anyway.
The Rangers signed Gonzales to a minor-league contract roughly one week after his Padres departure and sent him to Triple-A Round Rock. His results remained uneven, but his latest appearance offered encouraging signs. Gonzales held Las Vegas to one run on three hits over five innings, issuing one walk while throwing 47 of his 75 pitches for strikes. We guess that was enough for Texas to give him a shot.
Marco Gonzales’ promotion creates awkward optics for the Padres
Gonzales earning another opportunity doesn’t rewrite anything that happened in El Paso. The Padres made a logical decision based on nearly 50 innings of bad baseball.
Still, the optics aren’t exactly comfortable. San Diego has spent much of the season trying to manufacture innings. Walker Buehler owns a 5.36 ERA, Randy Vásquez sits at 4.55 and Griffin Canning has been tagged for a 6.67 mark. Meanwhile, Nick Pivetta, Lucas Giolito and Joe Musgrove all remain sidelined.
Maybe Gonzales squeezes a few useful innings out of what remains of his career. He’s likely to be used as a bridge reliever so he’ll have some protection. The Rangers are betting that an experienced lefty can cover a couple of innings without setting the building on fire.
Some would say the Padres could use the same thing, but not exactly in this capacity. The bullpen is fine, using Gonzales as a starter would simply come with too much risk.
Texas also selected catcher Austin Wynns, adding another small San Diego connection to the move. Wynns was born in San Diego and attended Poway High, but his promotion is more of a local-interest nugget than Padres affiliation. He entered Tuesday batting .075 with a .200 OPS in 53 major-league at-bats this season.
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This article was originally published on friarsonbase.com as Former Padres pitching castoff lands unexpected MLB opportunity with Rangers.
