Should the Rockies re-sign Germán Márquez?

In a strange twist, the true veterans of the Colorado Rockies clubhouse — the ones who were there for Rocktober in 2017 and 2018 — are in the starting rotation.

When Ryan McMahon was traded to the New York Yankees, only Kyle Freeland, Germán Márquez, and Antonio Senzatela remained from those playoff teams.

Freeland’s and Senzatela’s futures are clear. The former signed a five-year, $64.5 million contract extension through 2026 while the latter is on a five-year, $50.5 million extension that will also end in 2026. (Senzatela’s fate in the near term is a topic for another day.)

Márquez, however, will see his time with the Rockies conclude at the end of this season when he completes his tw0-year, $20 million contract extension.

The last two-plus years have not been great for Márquez who underwent Tommy John surgery in 2023 and has struggled to return to the field.

However, it’s worth asking if the Rockies should pursue one more extension for the 2026 season.

Márquez’s distinguished history

Without question, he will go down as one of the Colorado Rockies great pitchers.

Currently, he leads all Rockies with 1059 strikeouts, and he is the first Rockies pitcher to rack up 1000 Ks. (Jorge De La Rosa has 985.)

In addition, Márquez is fourth in innings pitched (1118.1), and his four complete games rank him 10th. As for Quality Starts, Márquez has 95, which is fourth among all Rockies pitchers, as well as an 8.52 K/9.

He’s also the rare Rockies pitcher who has been an All-Star, the first starter to earn the honor since 2010.

His résumé, then, is clear.

But that’s about the past. The question now is about the future.

Although Márquez spent much of his career as a pitching workhorse, that changed when he got Tommy John surgery. From 2017-2022, Márquez pitched at least 160 innings each year and had at least 28 starts (with the exception of 2020). In 2018, Márquez was clearly at the height of his pitching prowess with a K/9 of 10.56. He finished that season with 4.1 fWAR.

In 2023-2024, though, he was reduced to 24 total innings pitched.

Now consider his 2025 performance. He has pitched 98.1 innings, earned a 6.68 K/9 (the lowest of his career since being called up in 2017), and has a 5.67 ERA.

He had begun to return to form prior to his most-recent injury with his fastball and knuckle curve bringing some swing and miss back into his game. But even with bright flashes, it’s clear that Márquez’s best days are behind him.

The Rockies’ (possible) 2026 rotation

The next question to ask, then, is what the Rockies rotation might look like in 2026. Let’s speculate.

• Kyle Freeland will return.
• Antonio Senzatela’s fate is uncertain though it’s always possible the Rockies will leave him in the rotation rather than move him into the bullpen.
• Austin Gomber, presumably, will be gone since he is a free agent, and Coors Field was never a very good fit for him.
• Ryan Feltner should be fully recovered from his back issues, but the fact that he’s having them should strike a cautionary tone.
• Chase Dollander, in theory, will continue his march toward becoming an ace.
• Tanner Gordon and Bradley Blalock will also be back.

As it turns out, the Rockies have surprisingly few viable rotation options for next season.

On the farm, two standouts are former first-round draft pick Gabriel Hughes, who has also struggled to come back from Tommy John. There’s Sean Sullivan, who’s had trouble staying healthy this season. But the choices are surprisingly limited, and much of the developing talent won’t be ready for Coors Field, at least not at the start of the season.

As the Rockies — and every other MLB team — know it’s difficult to have to much pitching. That is especially true for a team that plays half of its games at elevation.

Frankly, attempting to bring back Márquez seems like a necessity given the Rockies’ dearth of starting rotation options.

To be clear, he knows how to pitch at Coors Field, and he is undaunted by the challenges of pitching at elevation. Second, he can continue to provide leadership for younger players, and he’s a welcoming presence in the clubhouse. The Rockies will be a young team, so any veteran player able to provide guidance should be under consideration. Third, he has institutional knowledge, a commodity fast leaving Coors Field.

Frankly, it’s difficult to see how the Rockies will put together a working rotation without Márquez.

Presumably, the Rockies would go for a short-term contract, say one year with the possibility of a mid-season trade to a contending team.

Then again, perhaps Márquez has had enough of losing and Colorado’s unforgiving environment. Maybe, like Jon Gray, he would like to try his luck elsewhere. If Márquez has another year or two left in the tank, it’s not unreasonable to think he might wish to spend that time with a team that has both better analytics and a less-stressful playing environment.

Questions about the Rockies’ 2026 rotation present another problem the Rockies have created for themselves, but it also gives Márquez considerable leverage in any contract negotiations.

FYI

Today in things I did not realize:

None of us, I suppose, is getting any younger, but Germán Márquez certainly made the most of his 20s. (Seriously, Rockies, bring him back.)

This week on the internet

The announcement that the Rockies had promoted Ethan Holliday, their 2025 first-round draft pick, to Low-A Fresno dropped on Tuesday morning.

A few hours later, he had his first professional hit:

It’s time for the Rockies to truly lean into their rebuild — and figure out that rotation — because the future is coming. It’s up to the organization to get the rest of their house in order.

What I’m Reading

• Rockies' Goodman hits 2nd HR with bat borrowed from Farmer | ESPN — Kyle Farmer is probably headed for coaching when his MLB career is over.
• After short stint with Yard Goats, Kyle Karros makes ’emotional’ MLB debut with Rockies | Hartford Courant — I’m starting that think that maybe, just maybe, Karros is the real deal.
• The Rockies should not wait one more day to fire general manager Bill Schmidt | Denver Gazette — As you might have guessed, columnist Mark Kiszla has strong feelings about the Rockies front office. He writes, “If Walker and Sterling Monfort want to be taken seriously as trusted custodians of major-league baseball in Colorado for the next generation, then they need to persuade their father to hire a new director of baseball operations sooner rather than later.”

Closing Thoughts

And that’s it for this week.

The Rockies need to win 10 more games to avoid making some pretty awful history.

Can they do it? (Here’s Joelle Milholm’s take.)

Truly I have no idea, but there’s little reason to suspect that the end of this home stand, which includes four games against the Dodgers, will do much to aid their cause.

Stay tuned!

As always, thanks for reading —

Renee

Rockies Pitch is a newsletter that focuses on Colorado Rockies baseball.

Find me on Bluesky at @ReneeDechert.com or send an email to Renee@RockiesPitch.com.