The San Diego Padres are doing their best to keep up with the arms race in the NL West.
Jeff Passan of ESPN reported on Wednesday that the Padres have agreed to a four-year, $55 million contract with veteran right-hander Nick Pivetta. Passan notes that the deal also has a pair of opt-outs after Year 2 and Year 3.
Additionally, Passan reports that Pivetta’s contract is backloaded and will pay him just $4 million in 2025 (but $19 million in 2026, $14 million in 2027, and $18 million in 2028). Pivetta’s deal with the Padres features a signing bonus of $3 million as well.
Pivetta, 31, was regarded as the top available starting pitcher who was still unsigned. He had spent the last four-and-a-half seasons with the Boston Red Sox and posted a 4.14 ERA over 26 starts last year.
While Pivetta’s surface stats are not particularly impressive, he has stellar strikeout numbers (11.1 Ks per nine innings over the last two seasons combined) and only walked 36 batters over 145.2 innings pitched in 2024.
The Padres, who finished last season at 93-69 but lost in the NLDS to the hated rival Los Angeles Dodgers, have mostly been dormant this offseason as they looked to potentially downsize on payroll (with several San Diego stars looking like possible candidates to be traded). But they just made some offensive upgrades around the fringes earlier this month and are now taking their (somewhat) big swing in the form of a four-year contract for the eight-year MLB veteran Pivetta.
