Nick Pivetta’s return has put the Padres in a spot they probably didn’t expect to be in this late in the year.
After opening 2026 as San Diego’s Opening Day starter and then missing months because of a strained right flexor in his right elbow, Pivetta came back in September and looked like himself again right away. In his first major-league start in five months, he worked five shutout innings against the Nationals, gave up just two hits and looked sharp enough to make people forget how long he’d been out. Outside of his dominant outing against the Giants on April 1, it was his best start of the season.
That’s why his second start back, which comes against San Francisco, matters so much. If Pivetta keeps rolling, he could force the Padres to rethink how they want to line up their postseason rotation.
Michael King is the easy part of the equation. He has become the staff’s clear ace, leading Padres starters with a 3.03 ERA and 175 innings, and he’s locked into the playoff rotation. Walker Buehler also has a strong case, especially with his 3.26 ERA in the second half and all the October experience he brings from his Dodgers days.
The uncomfortable part comes after that.
San Diego’s trade deadline additions, Robbie Ray and Casey Mize, have not given the club much to feel good about. Ray has posted a 6.07 FIP and -0.3 fWAR with the Padres, while Mize sits at a 6.34 ERA and -0.2 fWAR.
Before Pivetta came back, the thought was that both would probably get playoff starts anyway because the rotation simply didn’t have much depth. Short of being a member of Randy Vasquez’s fanclub, there wasn’t much of an argument to push them out.
Pivetta’s resurgence changes that. If he keeps pitching like he did against Washington, San Diego suddenly has only four realistic rotation spots to sort through, with Buehler seemingly in line for one of them. That leaves Ray and Mize fighting for what may be a single opening.
There is a possible workaround: carry five starters and use Ray and Mize in a Game 4 piggyback setup, riding whichever one has the better hand that day. It’s not the cleanest solution, especially given what the Padres gave up to acquire them, but it may be the one they’re left with if Pivetta keeps making the decision harder.
In Other News...
Padres Infield Plans Just Got More Interesting With One Star Linked
The Padres are already expected to chase starting pitching in the 2026-27 offseason, but a new layer has crept into the conversation around their roster plans. CBS Sports analyst Mike Axisa has floated San Diego as a potential landing spot for Yankees infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr., whose mix of athleticism and left-handed pop has kept him on the radar while he plays the 2026 season on a one-year deal in New York.
For a Padres club that always has to balance urgency with long-term fit, Chisholm is the kind of name that naturally changes the way people look at the infield picture. He has been productive enough offensively and solid enough defensively to draw attention beyond the Bronx, and San Diego is not the only club in the mix, with the Texas Rangers also mentioned. The real question is whether the Padres want to make room for another impact infielder while they are also sorting out their pitching priorities. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Keep Making The Wild Card Race Feel Way Too Stressful
The Padres made it look comfortable early, then turned the back half of Wednesdays game into another reminder of how tight the National League wild card picture has become. San Diego got long balls from Rafael Devers and Jackson Merrill, plus a safety squeeze from Jake Cronenworth, to build enough cushion against the Giants and keep control of a game that mattered just as much for the standings as it did in the box score.
Fernando Tatis Jr. also chipped in with a solo homer in the sixth to help stretch the margin before the Giants started to chip away. Even after the late push, the Padres were able to hang on and keep their spot in the third wild card race, which is where every win feels like it can change the mood of the week. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Face A Michael King Problem This Winter
Michael Kings first season in San Diego gave the Padres exactly what they were hoping for when they brought him in from the Yankees: a reliable starter who settled into the rotation quickly and pitched like someone they could count on. That mattered even more because the contract he signed last offseason came with built-in flexibility, including opt-out clauses after the first and second seasons.
Jeff Passan of ESPN reports King is expected to use that escape hatch this winter, which would leave the Padres facing another major pitching decision before the offseason really gets rolling. For a team that valued his consistency and effectiveness, the question now is not whether he fit, but whether San Diego can keep him from getting to the open market and force itself into a tougher winter than it wanted. [Read more 🡒]