Padres Have A Tough Call To Make On These Two Players

The San Diego Padres may lead the league in offseason question marks, which is surprising given how far they went in the playoffs. Two of the more under-the-radar ones are about outfielder/DH Gavin Sheets and Nick Pivetta, and AJ Cassavell of MLB.com did a breakdown on both player. 

The issues with Sheets are about his health. He struggled with plantar fasciitis early, and Sheets eventually wound up with a complete plantar plate tear in his left foot that limited him in September. 

Manager Craig Stammen commented about this, saying Sheets would likely opt against having surgery. Sheets has the option to rest or go under the knife, but Stammen did say he expects Sheets to be ready to go in spring training. 

The larger question is about where Sheets fits. He’s thirty, and Sheets is one of several veterans who provide clutch production but relatively poor numbers. This year his slash line was .212/.313/.397, although his foot issues obviously contributed significantly to these numbers. 

But the Padres are a team that desperately needs to get younger and more athletic. There are few spots where they’re able to do this, and giving a player like Sheets significant playing time could detract from a younger player they might sign or trade for to reach that objective. 

The questions about Pivetta have to do with his contract. Pivetta made a heroic return down the stretch after spending most of the season  on the IL due to elbow and forearm issues, but he wasn’t able to give the Padres any length at all when he came back. 

Pivetta still has two years and $32 million his current contract, but there’s also a stipulation that the pitcher would maintain his player option for 2028 for $18 million if the Padres pick up their team option for next year. 

The timeline for a decision about Pivetta is short, as Cassavell noted. The Padres have to make a call about Pivetta within five days after the World Series ends, and that’s close to right around the corner at this point. 

A renegotiation is possible, but that’s not going to change the situation with Pivetta’s elbow. GM A.J. Preller said the Padres staff would sit down soon and figure out what the best plan is, and Preller said he’s hoping that Pivetta wants to be “part of that puzzle.” There are a lot of pieces in that puzzle, though, and some of the decisions are going to be tough indeed.