In February, the free agency market had basically come to a standstill. Then, the San Diego Padres swooped in and signed pitcher Nick Pivetta to a four-year, $55 million deal.
The addition of Pivetta gave San Diego a rotation of Yu Darvish, Michael King, Dylan Cease and Pivetta with Randy Vasquez and Matt Waldron then fighting for the No. 5 job.
Now, with the postseason right around the corner, there is no doubt that Pivetta is the best pitcher on the Padres rotation this year.
The former Boston Red Sox starter has gone 13-5 with a 2.73 ERA to lead San Diego starters in every category.
On Wednesday night, Pivetta dominated again with seven shutout innings and walking one while giving up four hits.
Moreover, all four hits on Wednesday came via singles, so the veteran was able to give San Diego another quality start, albeit in a frustrating 2-1 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.
After the game, Padres manager Mike Shildt spoke highly of Pivetta, and it seems that he would be the one to start Game 1 of the postseason.
"We know Nick’s going to meet the challenge,” Shildt said, via AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. “He met it tonight. Clearly we expect and have a lot of confidence in him being able to do it in the future.”
Also, the Padres bullpen needed some sort of break, and Pivetta gave them that.
“Nick went into the game knowing we didn’t have a lot … available for tonight’s game in the bullpen,” Shildt said. “He knew that going in, and he met the challenge.”
The Padres used six relievers in the extra-inning win on Monday night and four on Tuesday, so it was a much-needed break for the bullpen despite the loss.
Fernando Tatis Jr. also raved about Pivetta's performance this season.
We have all the confidence in the world,” Tatis said after Wednesday's game. “The guy has been a Cy Young [candidate] this year. He has pitched and managed himself that way. When he’s on the mound, we feel all the confidence in the world.”
Pivetta already has a career-high in wins and ERA in 29 games this season.
And, at this rate, it seems that he is the best option for the Padres in a potential Game 1 of a postseason series.
Michael King just returned from another injury, and both Yu Darvish and Dylan Cease have been inconsistent this year.
Pivetta's next start is set to come on the road against the New York Mets, which is another team fighting for a playoff spot.