Padres Convert Pivetta’s Player Option To A Team Choice

The San Diego Padres gained some contractual leverage over injured starter Nick Pivetta, according to a report from Mark Polishuk of MLBTradeRumors.com gives the Padres some flexibility in walking away from the two years and $32 million remaining on Pivetta’s deal.

The details are important here, so let’s backtrack. According to Polishuk, signed a four-year, $55 million free agent deal with San Diego in February 2025 that broke down as $23 million in guaranteed money over the first two years, and Pivetta then had the ability to opt out after the second and third years of the contract.

The original terms had Pivetta owed $14 million in 2027 and $18 million in 2028, but the Padres also inserted a clause in case Pivetta spent at least 130 days on in the IL for in either last season or this one, and Pivetta is now exceeding that number for this season. 

That means the starter’s player option for next year is now a club option with no buyout. If the Padres decline that option after this season, Pivetta will become a free agent. 

Pivetta’s journey to theoretical health has been something of a mystery for most of the season. He went out early with a forearm strain, and a couple of rehab efforts have been unsuccessful, with Pivetta most recently reduced to playing catch. 

This won’t have any impact on the rest of the season for Pivetta, but it does have important implications going forward. One likely outcome would be the Padres and Pivetta coming to a new contract agreement in the interim, which would certainly be in the right-hander’s best interests given his lost season this year. 

It would also make sense with a lockout on the horizon, as it would give the Padres some assurances about their pitching staff given the uncertainties they face going forward. Both Casey Mize and Robbie Ray are rentals as well, and Michael King can also opt-out after the season if he so desires. 

There’s always the possibility that Pivetta could return for next season, though. He tossed two innings in a bridge league game yesterday, according to Polishuki’s report, so technically he’s back on the rehab trail, although he was pulled from his first rehab outing back on Aug. 4 due to elbow discomfort. He still faces a significant road ahead, as he’d have to make at least a couple of additional appearances to make it back in mid- to late-September.