Free agent Pivetta joining Padres on 4-year, $55M contract

PEORIA, Ariz. -- The Padres arrived at the Peoria Sports Complex for the start of Spring Training last week, still searching for clarity in their starting rotation.

It didn't take long to find it.

Right-hander Nick Pivetta has finalized a four-year contract, the Padres officially announced on Monday. Terms of the deal were not announced, but per sources, 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. The deal contains opt-outs after the 2026 and '27 seasons.

After a relatively quiet offseason in San Diego, Pivetta's arrival clarifies some question marks in the Padres' rotation. Pivetta, who turned 32 on Friday, can theoretically slot behind Dylan Cease, Michael King and Yu Darvish in the No. 4 spot in the Padres' rotation -- leaving a camp competition for the final opening.

"It's a very good group of established guys, Darvish leading them, and you have Cease and King -- those guys are proven pitchers," said Pivetta, who reported to camp on Monday. "They've done an extraordinary job. I look forward to getting to know them -- obviously this is just my first day here -- learning from them and exchanging knowledge."

Cease (and, to a lesser extent, King) has been the subject of trade rumors, and with Pivetta on board, it's worth wondering if those could be rekindled. But general manager A.J. Preller recently hinted that his plan was to move forward with the current group.

Whatever happens elsewhere, the Padres’ rotation is significantly more stable with Pivetta. He was a reliably solid starter for the Red Sox from 2021-24, averaging 156 innings a season with a 4.33 ERA and 26.9% strikeout rate. The right-hander was even better from 2023-24, compiling a 4.09 ERA with a 30% strikeout rate that was fifth best among pitchers with at least 250 innings.

Pivetta’s recent success can be partly attributed to his excellent results on breaking pitches -- his curveball, plus a new sweeper he introduced in 2023. The Padres are banking on those trends continuing, particularly as Pivetta’s home games move from hitter-friendly Fenway Park to pitcher-friendly Petco Park.

Pivetta posted a 4.14 ERA over 27 appearances (26 starts) for Boston in 2024, though his expected ERA was well below that, at 3.51. His 28.9% strikeout rate ranked in the 88th percentile among qualifying pitchers, and his 6.1% walk rate placed him in the 80th percentile.

After last season, Pivetta received -- and turned down -- a qualifying offer worth $21.05 million from the Red Sox. As such, Boston will receive Draft-pick compensation following his departure. Because the Padres were below the first Competitive Balance Tax threshold last season, signing Pivetta will cost them only one pick -- their second highest of the 2025 Draft -- plus $500,000 from their international bonus pool. That said, the Pivetta signing makes it far likelier that the Padres would exceed that CBT threshold in ‘25.

"I wanted to see if I could get a longer-term deal, some more comfort for me and my wife to know that we're going to be somewhere for a little bit," Pivetta said of his decision to turn down the qualifying offer. "I'm pretty excited just to be here and be able to have this opportunity."

With only two guaranteed seasons in San Diego, Pivetta isn’t exactly a long-term answer for San Diego’s rotation. But he certainly helps stabilize things. Both Cease and King are set to become free agents after the season, and Darvish turns 39 on Aug. 16.

Now, Pivetta will join Darvish and Joe Musgrove (who is slated to return from Tommy John surgery) as the anchors of a potential 2026 rotation. As for Cease and King, they’ve been rumored as trade chips primarily because they’re both set to hit free agency after the season. But if the Padres hold onto them, their ‘25 rotation now looks awfully solid on paper.

Behind the quartet of Cease, King, Darvish and Pivetta, the Padres have a handful of contenders for the final rotation spot. Matt Waldron and Randy Vásquez are favorites, along with the newly signed left-hander Kyle Hart. Jhony Brito and Stephen Kolek, both now healthy, are also in the mix. Manager Mike Shildt revealed last week that Kolek would transition from the bullpen into a starting role.

When Padres pitchers and catchers arrived in Peoria last week, those four fringe rotation arms were competing for two spots. Now, they appear to be competing for one.

Indeed, by adding Pivetta, the Padres found some of the rotation depth that they spent the winter searching for.