The Colorado Rockies’ starter returned to mound after recovery from Tommy John surgery in May 2023
Plain and simple: Germán Márquez is almost right back where he belongs. But he’s not there just yet.
Following a 14-month recovery after having undergone Tommy John surgery in May 2023, Márquez returned to his familiar spot as a member of the Colorado Rockies’ starting rotation.
The right-hander, who was an All-Star in 2021, made his first start for the Rockies since April 26, 2023, when he took the mound July 14 on the road against the New York Mets.
“I felt nervous because it was a year and a couple of months,” Márquez said about the time since his previous start and his return.
“I was nervous. There were a lot of things going through my mind,” he continued. “But when I got to the mound, everything went away.”
Now in his ninth season with the Rox, the native of San Felix, Venezuela made his return to action memorable.
With his third strikeout against the Mets, Márquez recorded his 984th strikeout to become the franchise leader in that category, surpassing Jorge De La Rosa’s total of 983.
“I just wanted to come back, feel healthy, feel 100% and break the record,” he said. He then noted that his next goal is to strike out 1,000 opposing hitters.
In his 2024 debut, Márquez allowed five hits and three earned runs with four walks and three strikeouts in a no decision.
Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images
For the most part, Colorado manager Bud Black was pleased with what he saw from Márquez in his return to action in New York.
“I think with Germán, he looked healthy; his stuff was good,” Black said on July 19 after the team’s return from the Mets series and the All-Star break.
”His command was a little bit off,” he continued. “It’s different, going through the process he went through for anybody with Tommy John. When you don’t have a full winter to get ready physically, mentally, then six weeks of spring training, it’s really hard to catch up and feel really locked in. But I am sure these next couple of months there will be varying degrees of feeling more comfortable.”
The start capped a journey that included seven rehab appearances following his surgery in May a year ago after he was the Rockies’ Opening Day starter in 2023, his third such distinction with Colorado.
The road to return to action was filled with its share of challenges but Márquez was not determined to see it through.
“My motive was to get ready and be here to do good for our team,” he said about his driving force to endure the time spent in recovering from surgery.
Márquez also spoke of the importance of the support he has received from the Rockies organization during his recovery.
“Everybody has been amazing,” he said. “My teammates, the staff. I am super proud. It’s good to get their backing.”
Notably, during his time away from the diamond, Márquez signed a two-year contract extension in September 2023 to cover the 2024 and 2025 campaigns.
“I just want to stay here and do this process with Colorado,” he said, having played his entire career with the Rockies. “I didn’t want to go to free agency with my arm like that.”
With one start under his belt, Márquez was slated to return to the mound on July 23 for his first start at Coors Field following his return to acton when Colorado entertained the Boston Red Sox.
However, on July 22, the Rockies placed Márquez on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to July 19) with right elbow inflammation.
Bud Black spoke to the media prior to the game on Monday evening about the move.
“We came back from the break and we got together Thursday for a workout, and then through Friday and Saturday, Germán’s arm just didn’t bounce back from the start in New York,” Black said. “He was fired up in New York! He was turning the ball loose and it was probably the right thing to do to put him on the injured list.
“He was a little concerned about how he felt and was a bit tentative inside on Saturday, so better safe than sorry,” he continued. “We’ll let this calm down a little bit, hopefully it’s just for a few weeks. He’ll start throwing again in a couple of days, we’ll let things quiet down and he’ll get some treatment and then we’ll see where he goes. But the medical staff were always concerned about everything – even healthy players are concerned – but with this one, we’re gonna stay positive.”
Luckily, though, Black said this injury was not at the site of the original injury that required surgery.
“The soreness is sort of moving around the elbow, which I think is a good thing,” he told the media. “It’s not on the surgical side, it’s not where the ligament was damaged and is now repaired. The original setback came from a little bit of the tricep on the upper part of the elbow and this is in different spots. The soreness stems from probably his last game in Hartford and that game in New York where his pitch count got up and the intensity was raised.”
In his place, Noah Davis was recalled from Albuquerque and Ty Blach got the start for Colorado against the Red Sox on July 23.
Hopefully the injury is just a tiny setback, but Germán Márquez really is almost back where he belongs: leading the Colorado Rockies rotation.