One of the quieter teams this winter was the San Diego Padres. This is a team that had the Los Angeles Dodgers on the ropes of elimination and still have a quality team to build around and win with. Yes, there are things going on among the front office, but this is a Padres team that can contend for a World Series. They finally stopped being silent and signed former Red Sox Pitcher Nick Pivetta. Pivetta signed a four year deal, and so far this move has been everything they could’ve asked for and he has been off to a strong start as a member of the Padres.

Nick Pivetta Off to Strong Start in 2025

What a start to the season for Nick Pivetta. This is a pitcher who has a career ERA of 4.71 and has had an ERA north of 4.00 the last two seasons. He is a pitcher that can provide depth on any roster and also give the team a chance to win. Oh, and he gets the luxury of pitching in one of the more pitcher friendly ballparks.

It is not just the ballpark factor, Pivetta is delivering on the mound and giving strong performances to begin the season. It’s quite encouraging and he’s made a very strong impression as a member of the Padres.

His first outing was stellar, as he smothered the Braves on Sunday Night Baseball, retiring 20 of the 21 batters he faced in that outing. He managed to strike out four batters in seven scoreless innings of work. Nicely done. Nicely done. He pitched yet another gem in front of the Padre faithful and it was more impressive than the first outing. Also, a much needed bounce back after going just three innings against the gauntlet that is the Cubs’ offense.

Yes, it is the Rockies, but you still have to pitch and deliver and at first it was not an easy contest. Pivetta was in quite the pitchers duel, until the offense broke the game wide open and took a commanding lead. But Pivetta remained steady the rest of the way.

Pivetta pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out ten batters (a high this season). Pivetta allowed just three hits and walked one batter, but the stuff under the hood was impressive. Pivetta generated 19 swing and misses, which was a game high for any pitcher. He was working with a three pitch sequence, relying heavily on his fastball and then mixing in his sweeper and curveball. His fastball had a whiff rate of 44%.

This signing has been enormous and the Padres are fortunate to have this type of depth to begin the season. Pivetta has a 1.59 ERA and a 0.82 WHIP in 17 innings of work this season.

Pivetta is Everything They Could’ve Asked For

This signing is off to a very good start. Joe Musgrove will miss the entire year and Yu Darvish is still on the sidelines nursing an injury. With this team having Michael King and Dylan Cease, Pivetta is the perfect complimentary piece and they have him for the foreseeable future. The season is off to a great start and the Padres are benefitting from it.