Griffin Canning Activated for Padres Debut Against White Sox
griffin canning was activated by the Padres on May 3 and started against the White Sox, giving San Diego a new arm for the series finale. Germán Márquez went on the 15-day injured list in the corresponding move after allowing seven earned runs over five innings on Friday.
Canning Joins San Diego
The right-hander was set to make his 2026 and Padres debut after a rehab assignment at Triple-A, and his final outing there came on Tuesday when he reached 68 pitches over five innings. The Padres had signed him in February to a one-year, $2.5 million guarantee.
Canning’s arrival also resets a rotation picture that had already been unsettled. Michael King and Randy Vásquez held the first two rotation spots, while Walker Buehler, Márquez and Matt Waldron filled out the group, with a six-man rotation under consideration.
Márquez Moves To 15-Day IL
Márquez’s move came after right forearm nerve inflammation kept him out of the mix. The White Sox had tagged him for seven earned runs over five innings on Friday, and that outing closed the book on his turn before San Diego made the roster switch.
For Canning, the start carried extra weight because the Padres expected him to be ready for Opening Day when he signed, but last June surgery to repair a ruptured left Achilles pushed him into a rehab path instead. That injury wiped out the rest of his season with the Mets, where he logged 76 1/3 innings last year.
Padres Rotation Pressure
The numbers around Canning explain why San Diego brought him in as soon as he was ready. In 2024, he allowed 31 home runs in 171 2/3 innings with the Angels, but in 2025 he posted a 0.93 home run rate per nine innings, a 50.9% groundball rate, a 21.3% strikeout rate and a 10.7% walk rate.
His timing matters because the Padres were already weighing more than one way to manage the staff, and May 3 put another option on the mound immediately. With Canning in the rotation and Márquez on the injured list, the club gets a different look for the short term while it sorts the rest of the pitching group.
