After a quiet winter, the San Diego Padres made a move at the beginning of spring training.
Former Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Nick Pivetta has agreed to a four-year, $55 million contract with San Diego, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The deal reportedly contains opt-outs after the second and third seasons.
BREAKING: Right-hander Nick Pivetta and the San Diego Padres are in agreement on a four-year, $55 million contract that includes a pair of opt-outs, pending physical, sources tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 13, 2025
Because Pivetta rejected a qualifying offer from the Red Sox, the Padres will pay draft pick compensation to Boston.
Pivetta, who ranked No. 26 on Yahoo Sports’ free-agent big board, was one of the last remaining significant free agents. While he has been one of MLB’s top starters in recent years when it comes to accruing strikeouts and staying healthy, Pivetta hasn’t stood out when it comes to preventing runs.
He has never posted an ERA below 4.00 in his career, and even when adjusting to the hitter-friendly environment of Fenway Park with the ERA+ stat, he has never been more than 13% better than MLB pitchers as a whole.
Still, the Padres needed arms. Their rotation has one of the better top 3s in MLB, with Dylan Cease, Yu Darvish and Michael King, but the depth behind that trio was lacking, hence why a guy with stuff and durability such as Pivetta might be a good fit for a team with a history of getting the most out of its arms.
At the same time, it’s quite possible that this addition is the presage to a subtraction.
Does the Nick Pivetta deal mean the Padres will be making a trade?
Until Wednesday, the only major-league deals the Padres had signed this offseason were one-year contracts for Jason Heyward, Connor Joe and Elías Díaz. Pivetta is their first multi-year deal.
There was a reason for that.
After years of spending like a big-market club and trying to out-muscle the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West, the Padres have been reported to be cutting payroll following the death of former controlling owner Peter Seidler.
Because of a plethora of big contracts extending into next year and beyond, that budget-cutting has limited the options for the team to improve. Roki Sasaki would’ve been a godsend for this organization, but the Dodgers were the ones who landed the Japanese phenom on an outrageously below-market deal, leaving the Padres to figure out how to salvage their season.
Not helping matters is a very public ownership battle taking place between Seidler’s widow and brothers.
It’s unclear just how low the Padres need to keep their payroll — a recent report indicated that they plan to stay in the top 10 of MLB, with them currently sitting at No. 9 — but trade rumors have popped up around Cease and King, both pending free agents, as well as closer Robert Suarez and first baseman Luis Arraez. In addition to saving money, such moves could help fill out a Padres farm system depleted by promotions and trades over the past few years.
So when the Padres are agreeing to pay a starting pitcher more than $10 million per year, it’s reason to believe there might be another significant move coming. That or they’re suddenly going all-in on 2025 in a stacked NL West, with the Dodgers looking better than ever, and planning to figure it out later.
