ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports the Padres are signing Nick Pivetta to a four-year, $55 million contract.
Passan adds that the deal contains opt-outs following the 2026 and 2027 seasons. The top remaining starting pitcher on the open market, Pivetta heads to San Diego to bolster a starting rotation mix that also includes Dylan Cease, Michael King and Yu Darvish. His arrival leaves Matt Waldron, Sean Reynolds and Randy Vásquez battling for the final spot or two in the season-opening mix. The 31-year-old right-hander posted a strong 4.14 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 172/36 K/BB ratio across 145 2/3 innings (27 appearances, 26 starts) last year for the Red Sox. His 22.9 percent K-BB percentage last year was the sixth-best mark in baseball among starting pitchers with at least 140 innings of work. He feels like one of the better bargains out there for fantasy purposes since he’s currently the 61st starter off the board (199th overall), on average, in early NFBC drafts.