Pivetta, who turns 32 on Friday, inked a four-year, $55M contract that includes opt-outs after Years 2 and 3. The contract averages out to $13.75M per year, but interestingly, the Padres structured the agreement to pay the right-hander just $1M in 2025, along with a $3M signing bonus.
Pivetta also had a one-year qualifying offer on the table from the Boston Red Sox, which he declined in hopes of landing a long-term pact (leaving millions of dollars on the table in 2025). The Padres will now surrender a draft pick to Boston as a result.
This agreement comes after much tumult for San Diego this offseason, particularly surrounding the fate of its ownership struggle, which has theoretically been settled. However, that quandary had caused the Padres to hold back on various free-agent pursuits, including Japanese star pitcher Roki Sasaki
signing with the Dodgers and outfielder Jurickson Profar signing with the Atlanta Braves, among others.
As for Pivetta himself, he’s coming off a 2024 campaign in which he made 27 appearances (26 starts) for the Red Sox, posting a 4.14 ERA over 145.2 innings pitched. Notably, he struck out 172 hitters in those 145.2 innings, good for nearly 11 strikeouts per nine innings on average.
The Padres will hope to build off his budding success from last season, especially in the whiff department, while keeping walks down.
Moreover, Pivetta’s deal brings trade possibilities back to the forefront. Could San Diego reignite discussions with clubs on starters Dylan Cease and Michael King, for example? The two right-handers were on the trade block at various points this winter, but activity around those names has quieted a bit of late.
Or perhaps the Padres view Pivetta as part of a reload for 2025, joining an experienced rotation that already has right-handers Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove, along with the aforementioned Cease and King.
Regardless, this is an intriguing move for San Diego, whose president of baseball operations and general manager A.J. Preller is known for his penchant to make a big splash at one point or another.
