The Padres have put Nick Pivetta’s rehab assignment on hold while they wait for more evaluation, a move that could carry real consequences beyond the immediate rotation picture.
Manager Craig Stammen told reporters, including AJ Cassavell of MLB.com, that Pivetta’s assignment is being paused after the right-hander exited in the middle of his first inning for Low-A Lake Elsinore on Tuesday. The veteran starter had been working his way back from a flexor strain that has kept him out since the middle of April.
What makes the situation murkier is that Pivetta was still able to throw a 20-30 pitch bullpen session later that same day. He also went through a long toss program yesterday and, as of last night, was not scheduled for imaging, according to Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune.
Stammen said the club is treating the situation carefully rather than calling it a setback. “Any time someone comes off the mound in the middle of an inning when they’re rehabbing an elbow injury, we’ve got to pause,” the skipper said.
That pause matters because Pivetta’s contract includes a clause that could shift the team’s long-term obligations. He signed a four-year, $55MM deal over the 2024-25 offseason, with opt-out chances after the ’26 and ’27 seasons. But the contract also included an injury protection provision for the Padres, as reported at the time by Ronald Blum of The Associated Press.
Under that clause, a conditional $14MM club option for 2027 kicks in if Pivetta suffers a specific injury during the first two seasons and then spends more than 130 straight days on the injured list. Blum’s report didn’t identify the exact injury covered, but the language appears tied to the flexor strain Pivetta suffered in April 2024 with the Red Sox. Both The Union-Tribune and Bob Nightengale of USA Today have reported that this current injury would trigger the clause if he does not return within 130 days.
The math is straightforward. Pivetta landed on the injured list on April 14, so he would need to be back by August 22 to stay at or under the 130-day threshold.
Before this pause, he appeared to be on a path to beat that mark. Now the margin is much thinner, because even a rehab delay of a week or so could leave him with only one or two minor league outings before he’d need to be activated.
If that club option becomes active, the rest of the deal changes with it. The final two guaranteed seasons would be voided, the opt-out would disappear, and the $14MM option would match the salary Pivetta was set to earn in 2027 if he had not opted out. His $18MM salary for 2028 would no longer be part of the contract.
For now, though, the Padres are dealing with the more immediate issue: getting Pivetta back on the mound. His absence, along with Joe Musgrove’s, has forced San Diego to keep patching together the rotation behind Michael King. The club has steadied that group with the Casey Mize and Robbie Ray deadline additions, even if Mize’s first start was ugly, but it is still waiting on its injured right-handers.
Musgrove, who is working back from 2024 Tommy John surgery, threw 2 2/3 innings in the same Lake Elsinore game on Tuesday to open his own rehab assignment. In the meantime, Randy Vásquez is likely to hold the fifth starter role behind King, the two deadline additions, and Walker Buehler. The Padres have used Griffin Canning out of the bullpen since the middle of July and designated Germán Márquez for assignment yesterday.
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