The New York Yankees could pull off an out of nowhere trade for this sleeper pitcher.
The New York Yankees are looking for starting pitching help, and three names we have heard routinely connected to the Yankees throughout the offseason are Freddy Peralta, Edward Cabrera and MacKenzie Gore.
The problem is that the cost in term of prospect capital would likely be extravagant for any of those pitchers. Peralta just pitched to the tune of a 2.70 ERA and both Cabrera and Gore have multiple years of club control remaining.
So is it possible New York could pivot to another arm?
One possible target to watch is San Diego Padres right-hander Nick Pivetta, who went 13-5 with a 2.87 ERA while racking up 190 strikeouts over 181.1 innings of work in 2025.
Pivetta is certainly not a household name, but he has been a solid pitcher the last several years and has averaged over 10 strikeouts per nine innings four times in his nine-year career.
Yes, he owns a lifetime 4.47 ERA, but he has been markedly better the past three seasons and has also exhibited terrific command.
Why Pivetta over the other three? Well, because the 32-year-old (he turns 33 next month) would not cost nearly as much in terms of prospects, which would allow the Yankees to retain some trade flexibility. Plus, he has been incredibly durable.
San Diego Padres pitcher Nick Pivetta. Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images.Now, the downside is that Pivetta is slated to earn $20.5 million in 2026, which would put a rather significant dent in New York's payroll. That's not something Hal Steinbrenner would love. But the catch is that while Pivetta has three years left on his deal, the contract comes with opt outs after both 2026 and 2027.
So there is a chance that Pivetta could be a one-year stopgap for the Yanks, which would make his bloated salary for next season considerably more palatable.
Would Steinbrenner be open to that? Maybe. It's no coincidence that Peralta, Cabrera and Gore are all very cheap in terms of the financial hit, but there is something to be said for retaining some of the prospects you would have to move for any of those hurlers.
The Padres would probably love to shed Pivetta's salary for next season, so there definitely exists a world in which the Yanks could acquire him without parting with any of their truly significant young players.
Of course, is Steinbrenner is entirely dead set on a certain payroll amount, then Pivetta would probably be out of the question. But you can't help but notice the potential pros.