Nick Pivetta's elbow concern sparks San Diego Padres' pursuit of former White Sox ace Lucas Giolito, who is a free agent.
The San Diego Padres ended the weekend with a five-game winning streak and a four-game sweep against the Colorado Rockies.
However, the final game of the weekend raised concerns for the team and the fan base. Starter Nick Pivetta was dealing, retiring the first nine batters on Sunday.
Then, after a 2-1 pitch, Pivetta stepped off the mound, stretched his arm, and the trainer and manager Craig Stammen came. Pivetta then exited the game in frustration, and it was revealed that there was elbow stiffness for the Padres' Opening Day starter.
It remains to be seen how much time Pivetta will miss, but the Padres are showing interest in longtime Chicago White Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito, who spent the 2025 campaign with the Boston Red Sox.
The Chicago Cubs have also expressed interest in Giolito, according to a report from Patrick Mooney, Ken Rosenthal, Dennis Lin and Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic.
The report states that the Padres are "monitoring" the situation, although the impending sale of the franchise makes things more complicated, as they wrote.
"The Padres’ interest in Giolito, meanwhile, may be complicated by the final stages of the franchise’s ongoing sale process, which could limit the baseball operations department’s financial flexibility."
Giolito pitched well in 2025 for the Red Sox, going 10-4 in 26 starts with a 3.41 ERA.
Giolito recently said he is unsigned because he hasn't found a deal worth signing as of now, so that could change if the Cubs and Padres make an offer for the one-time All-Star.
The Cubs are also facing some injuries early on, and both teams would allow Giolito an opportunity to pitch for a playoff-contending team.
Assuming Pivetta goes on the IL and misses time, the Padres can call up knuckleballer Matt Waldron as an immediate replacement. Waldron missed Opening Day due to an issue during spring training, but he has pitched well in Triple-A El Paso.
JP Sears is another option for San Diego, and the former Athletics pitcher didn't make. the Opening Day roster after a rough spring.
Joe Musgrove, who missed all of 2025 after Tommy John surgery, is still trying to recover and get ready to throw, so the injuries are already hitting San Diego hard.
Giolito makes too much sense, but, as The Athletic noted, the sale of the franchise being in the process makes things complicated on that front.