The San Diego Padres rounded out their rotation on Wednesday.
Padres add quality arm to pitching staff
According to MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell, the Padres inked eight-year veteran Nick Pivetta to a deal lasting through the 2028 MLB season:
“Right-hander Nick Pivetta has agreed to a four-year, $55 million contract with San Diego, sources told MLB.com on Wednesday — hours after the team held its first formal workout for pitchers and catchers in Arizona. The deal contains opt-outs after the 2026 and ’27 seasons. It has not yet been confirmed by the club and is pending a physical,” Cassavell wrote.
“Per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, Pivetta will earn a $3 million signing bonus plus a $1 million salary in 2025, followed by salaries of $19 million, $14 million, and $18 million in each of the following three seasons, respectively.”
Padres inherit a pitcher that can provide quality starts
San Diego knows what they will get from Pivetta. The Canadian talent owns a career 4.76 ERA and bested that with a 4.14 ERA last season.
While he’s never earned an ERA less than 4.00, the 32-year-old is good to produce within the 4.00-5.00 range in most campaigns. Pivetta does offset his average efficiency with a great strikeout rate. He retired an impressive 172 batters across 27 games in 2024. That made it the fourth straight season where he tossed an excess of 170 Ks.
Thus, he will give the Padres an experienced hurler who can strike out and walk batters at a commendable rate. The latter of which he did at a 6.1 percent rate, which ranked in the 80th percentile last time out. He’ll complement ace Dylan Cease, Michael King, Yu Darvish, and Joe Musgrove well next time out.