Padres' $55 Million Pitcher Reveals Secret to Breaking Out in San Diego

When the San Diego Padres signed right-handed pitcher Nick Pivetta in the offseason, he was meant to serve as a middle of the rotation pitcher.

However, with both Yu Darvish and Michael King sidelined, Pivetta has emerged as a frontline starter for the Friars in 2025. Darvish began the year on the injured list and has not made his season debut for the Padres almost halfway through the campaign.

King landed on the IL with a pinched nerve in May. It remains unclear when either starter will make their return to the rotation, and Pivetta has largely helped keep a depleted rotation afloat in baseball's best division, the National League West.

On Wednesday against the Washington Nationals, Pivetta once again delivered for the Padres in a 1-0 win at Petco Park. The right-hander tossed seven scoreless innings, striking out 10 batters and issuing no walks.

The Nationals never had runners in scoring position with Pivetta on the mound.

The Padres signed Pivetta to a four-year, $55 million deal following a quiet offseason, which featured mostly veteran acquisitions. Connor Joe and Jason Heyward, who were both signed in the offseason, are no longer on the team.

While some of those signings haven't worked out for the Padres, Pivetta certainly has. After his lights out performance Wednesday, Pivetta lowered his ERA to 3.36. It was the fourth time this season he has thrown seven scoreless frames.

Pivetta believes his standout performance this season comes down to two reasons.

“Signing somewhere long-term has helped me out a lot,” Pivetta said, via MLB.com's AJ Cassavell. “But the openness that [pitching coach] Ruben [Niebla] has, the way he communicates -- it's helped me a lot, and it's kind of led to a lot of success.”

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