Padres Decline $14 Million Option on Nick Pivetta, Making the Canadian Right-Hander a Free Agent

The San Diego Padres declined their $14 million club option on starting pitcher Nick Pivetta for 2027, making the right hander a free agent. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune first reported the decision, which theScore reported on Nov 1, 2026. MLB Trade Rumors also reported the same decision. Acee added in a follow up post that there are questions about the health of Pivetta's elbow, that declining the option was expected, and that the team and the player could still work out a new deal.

How the option changed hands

Pivetta originally held a player option, but it reverted to a club option after he spent more than 130 consecutive days on the injured list in 2026 with an elbow injury. Had San Diego exercised the option, he would have returned for the third season of his four year deal and would have owned an $18 million player option for 2028. By declining it, the Padres also removed the potential $32 million commitment over the remaining two years of the contract. That clause explains how a pitcher who pitched well when he was on the mound still reached free agency this week, because the injury time in 2026 changed who controlled the next step in the deal.

A career year in 2025

Pivetta, 33, is a Canadian from Victoria, British Columbia. He joined San Diego before the 2025 season on a four year, $55 million deal. In 2025 he had a career year across 31 starts, posting an earned run average in the 2.8s with a 0.99 WHIP, 190 strikeouts and a career high 181 2/3 innings. He finished sixth in Cy Young voting that year. He earned just $1 million in 2025 under the backloaded deal, a low first year salary that made his strong season stand out even more against the larger sums that were still to come later in the contract.

An injury shortened 2026

In 2026, Pivetta made four appearances before hitting the injured list in mid April with a flexor strain. He had rehab setbacks and did not return to the majors until early September. He pitched in eight starts in total, working 34 2/3 innings with a 2.86 ERA, plus 7 2/3 postseason innings. He had a similar flexor strain in 2024 with Boston. That history, along with the elbow questions Acee noted, now follows him into free agency. His 2026 numbers were good in the starts he did make, but the season was short, and teams looking at him will have to weigh the 2025 workload and results against the time he missed in 2026.

What it means for the rotation

Pivetta is the second Padres starter to reach free agency in the early offseason after Michael King opted out of his contract. Left hander Wandy Peralta chose to stay, opting into the final season of his contract for $4.45 million in 2027, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post via theScore. MLB Trade Rumors lists San Diego's remaining experienced rotation options as Joe Musgrove, Randy Vasquez, JP Sears and Jhony Brito, with King and Walker Buehler also hitting free agency. San Diego now has innings to replace in its rotation, and Pivetta enters the market as a starter with a recent career year and a recent injury season on the same record.