PEORIA, Ariz. — Right-hander Nick Pivetta and the San Diego Padres finalized a four-year, $55 million contract, a backloaded deal that allows him to opt out after the 2026 and ’27 seasons.
Pivetta gets a $3 million signing bonus and salaries of $1 million this year, $19 million in 2026, $14 million in 2027 and $18 million in 2028.
He will have received $23 million if he ends the deal after two seasons and $37 million if he cuts it short after three.
A native of Victoria, Canada, who just turned 32, Pivetta was 6-12 with a 4.14 ERA in 26 starts and one relief appearance last year for Boston. He turned down a $21.05 million qualifying offer from the Red Sox.
Pivetta is 56-71 with a 4.76 ERA in eight major league seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies (2017-20) and Red Sox, who acquired him in an August 2020 trade. His four-seam fastball averaged 93.9 mph and he threw it 48.6% of the time, mixing it with sweepers (25.7%), curveballs (16.3%), cutters (5.9%) and sliders (3.4%).
With the brothers and wife of late owner Peter Seidler fighting for control of the team, the Padres have had a rather quiet offseason, adding outfielders Jason Heyward and Connor Joe. San Diego was a finalist for Japanese right-hander Roki Sasaki, who signed with the rival Los Angeles Dodgers.
Because Pivetta turned down a qualifying offer, Boston will receive an extra pick before the third round of the amateur draft in July and the Padres will lose their second-highest selection, currently No. 64, along with $500,000 in international signing bonus pool allocation for 2026.
