Nick

Pivetta

Pivetta showed pretty good velocity in his spring debut and pitched around a first-inning triple from Elly De La Cruz, but the Reds worked two walks and got two hits against him in the second.

Rosenthal, Lin and Sammon add the Padres have expressed interest in the Mets’ trio of elite pitching prospects — Nolan McLean, Jonah Tong and Brandon Sproat — while noting that franchise cornerstones Francisco Lindor and Fernando Tatis Jr. have not surfaced in trade discussions. Any deal involving those prospects would qualify as a blockbuster, though McLean’s inclusion would be especially surprising given that he’s been viewed as virtually untouchable since making his major-league debut late last season. New York remains in the market for an established front-line starter and an additional high-leverage reliever to pair with newly acquired stopper Devin Williams following Edwin Díaz’s departure to Los Angeles. While The Athletic notes that nothing appears imminent, this is a situation worth monitoring closely from a fantasy standpoint.

Lin is quick to point out that a deal isn’t likely, but the Padres are desperate to fill out their thin starting rotation and add an impact bat, so they might need to trade a controllable asset like Pivetta to fill multiple roster spots. There is also the risk of losing Pivetta for nothing. The 32-year-old has two years and $32 million remaining on his contract, but he can opt out of the deal after this year, which he might do if he has another strong season. “Trading Pivetta could give the Padres payroll flexibility and resources to pursue multiple controllable starters,” per Lin, so this remains a situation to monitor.

Pivetta looked unhittable in the early stages of the contest, carrying a shutout into the fifth inning and allowing just one baserunner through four frames, before things unraveled when he coughed up back-to-back homers to Seiya Suzuki and Carson Kelly. The 32-year-old veteran right-hander left on the hook for the loss after throwing just 85 pitches (55 strikes). He would be in line to take the ball for Game 1 of the NLDS, if San Diego rallies to take the final two games of this series.

Pivetta has been a bona fide ace for the Padres this season, posting a 2.87 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, and 190/50 K/BB ratio in 181 2/3 innings. Cease and Darvish have been less consistent than Pivetta, but they both offer ace upside if they are clicking on any given night.

Pivetta struggled to throw strikes for much of the contest, as he issued five free passes and landed just 65 of 112 pitches in the zone. All three runs allowed came after the second inning, and outside of that poor frame, it was a solid evening for Pivetta; albeit one that sees his ERA rise to a still-strong 2.87. This could be the final start of the season for Pivetta, but for now he’s lined up to face the Diamondbacks on Sunday.

Pivetta did not have his best stuff here. The Mets jumped on him for three home runs and he was fortunate all three were solo shots despite allowing plenty of other hits too. In all, 10 of the 16 balls the Mets put in play were hard-hit as Pivetta struggled to locate all of his pitches. This caused Padres’ manager Mike Shildt to have an uncharacteristically quick hook for Pivetta who didn’t complete five innings for the first since June 20th. He’s scheduled to face the Brewers next time out.

Pivetta allowed only four hits and walked one while striking out eight and posting a 22 percent whiff rate and 34 percent CSW. He didn’t miss many bats with anything except his sweeper, but he landed his curve and fastball in the zone frequently and got ahead in the count most of the night. He left the game with a one-run lead, but the Padres’ bullpen was unable to hold onto it. He’ll now take a 2.73 ERA into a start against the Mets next week.

Pivetta pitched well, but he was outdueled by Kyle Freeland because baseball definitely makes sense. The right-hander allowed seven hits with two walks and struck out five. This is the fifth-consecutive start where Pivetta has allowed no more than two earned runs, and his ERA is now a healthy 2.85 in large thanks to his outstanding effort since the start of July. He’ll look to keep it up and get a semblance of support versus Cincinnati on Wednesday.

The Padres won this game 12-3, but they were down 3-1 when Pivetta departed. It was his shortest start since June 20, when he gave up four runs in 4 2/3 innings versus the Royals. In 11 starts since, he’d allowed three earned runs just once. Pivetta will make his next start in Colorado, where he had his worst outing of the year back in May (6 ER in 4 IP). We’d be fine with leaving him active, though.