The Padres have signed veteran left-hander Marco Gonzales to a minor league deal, the Union-Tribune confirmed.
The New York Post first reported a deal worth $1.5 million if the 33-year-old makes the team, plus up to $1 million in incentives.
Gonzales missed all of 2025 after undergoing flexor tendon surgery. The Padres had personnel watch him multiple times recently in both Seattle and Arizona.
Gonzales had a 4.54 ERA across seven starts (33 ⅔ innings) for the Pirates in 2024 and has a 4.16 ERA over parts of 10 years in the majors with Pittsburgh, Seattle and St. Louis.
While the Padres re-signed pitcher Michael King, they also lost Dylan Cease to free agency and Yu Darvish to Tommy John surgery, necessitating the need to take some fliers via minor league deals like the one given to Gonzales.
Nick Pivetta is returning to lead a rotation that will include King, Joe Musgrove in his return from Tommy John surgery and Randy Vásquez. Others competing with Gonzales for spots include left-handers JP Sears and Kyle Hart, knuckleballer Matt Waldron and prospect Miguel Mendez, who was added to the 40-man roster in November in order to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.