Padres right-hander Nick Pivetta exited today’s game against the Rockies in the fourth inning today, and the Padres later announced that his departure was due to “right elbow stiffness.” Additional details about the situation are not yet known, but AJ Cassavell of MLB.com notes that Pivetta’s velocity was down on his final pitch and he appeared frustrated as he exited the game with manager Craig Stammen and a team trainer. After the game, Annie Heilbrunn of the San Diego Union-Tribune relayed comments from Stammen that indicated Pivetta may undergo imaging tomorrow depending on how he feels in the morning, but offered some optimism as he suggested that “there’s a world” where Pivetta makes his next start.
Cassavell notes that Pivetta previously missed a start during Spring Training last month due to what the Padres described at the time as “arm fatigue.” He wound up missing just that one start, and it’s unclear if that ailment has any connection to this current issue. Stammen’s update after the game appears to be fairly optimistic, but any amount of time missed by Pivetta would be a real blow to San Diego. Pivetta was the team’s top starter last year, as he pitched to a 2.87 ERA in 181 2/3 innings of work across 31 starts. That sort of production is never easy to replace, but it’s even more difficult for San Diego given that Dylan Cease left for Toronto in free agency while Joe Musgrove is not yet ready to return from his October 2024 Tommy John surgery.
If Pivetta does wind up missing time due to his ailing elbow, it seems likely that the Padres will turn to either Matt Waldron or Griffin Canning to fill the void. Both are presently on the injured list but have already begun rehab assignments and are looking fairly good as they do so. Waldron seems to be the further along of the two in terms of building up his pitch count and could be the first choice to join the rotation if Pivetta is placed on the shelf. Canning is on a guaranteed MLB deal and cannot be optioned to the minors, but Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune suggests that he may not be ready to return to action until next month. If a fifth starter is needed before either Waldron or Canning is ready, JP Sears is also available at Triple-A alongside non-roster veterans like Marco Gonzales and Triston McKenzie.
That’s a decent amount of depth and it will be much-needed if Pivetta misses significant time. The rest of the rotation has had promising moments but comes with question marks. Michael King has gotten solid results but hasn’t looked quite as sharp as he did before his shoulder injury last season. Randy Vasquez has looked nothing short of excellent despite being more of a back-of-the-rotation arm in the past, and Walker Buehler is offering some encouraging peripherals, but German Marquez has looked over-matched so far this year with a 5.54 ERA and 7.50 FIP. The right-hander could be pushed out of the Padres’ rotation by Waldron’s return, though that of course won’t happen if Pivetta misses time and Waldron is instead filling in for the staff’s ace.
welcome back Knuckles!
Now his recent… ummmmm… malady makes a lot more sense.
“there’s a world” where Pivetta makes his next start.
aaand there’s a world where he doesnt throw a major league pitch until the 2nd half of 2027
and there’s a world where the 2nd half of the 2027 season is the first half of the 2027 season
And there’s a world where we play 162 games in 2027.
And there’s a world where he comes back for his next start pitching left handed
and there’s a world where there is no other world except for world of Margaret Lopez
And I suppose everyone here knows who Margaret Lopez is but me.
Nah, just me
Doesn’t sound fine.
Not good. Nick was not pleasant coming into the dugout…
Nick is rarely all that pleasant, period. He always has a case of resting b**ch face going on.
Lucas Giolito….. “Hello, it’s AJ, what are you up to?????”……
“Uhhhh, still about 6′ 6″… why?”
Just checking to see if you’ve decided what you’re worth…
ouch “Brew88 Exits the MLBTR chat with apparent funny bone stiffness”
The Braves designated Martin Perez as another potential option.
German Marquez has looked over-matched so far this year with a 5.54 ERA and 7.50 FIP
Outside of Julien and Moniak yesterday Marquez was pretty good against the lineup. Just got bit by the long ball against those two hitters, Moniak twice Julien once
3 outings he’s been bad good decent. I’d hardly pull the plug after 3 starts esp as your 5th
King
Vasquez
Buehler
Marquez
I’d go with Canning but interim I’d do a pen day once Estrada is back to keep guys around long as possible
Marinaccio starter
Hart in between
Get 5 innings
Bridge to Rodriguez Estrada Morejon Miller Morgan
I like the idea of a bridge to Bradg and the 3Ms for next turn in rotation. Then bring in Waldron. Canning is 2 weeks away I’m hearing.
Any idea what is going on with Musgrove? Should he not have been ready to come back by now? There were rumblings that he might be ready for the playoffs last October.
If Preller&Co., have any interest in Giolito, they better get on him in a hurry.
Giolito has lowered his asking price to a one year $875,000,000 contract if he can get hurt immediately after signing.
Craig stammens is a manager already?
Ruh roh Raggy