SAN DIEGO — Nick Pivetta retired each of the first nine batters he faced Sunday at Petco Park. Before he could finish facing a 10th, the right-hander departed the game, casting a cloud over what had been an auspicious start to the San Diego Padres’ season.
The Padres later announced their No. 1 starter exited with right elbow stiffness. Leading off the fourth inning, Pivetta had appeared uncomfortable while displaying reduced velocity. After he threw a 92.2 mph fastball for a strike to Colorado Rockies second baseman Eduoard Julien, a team athletic trainer and manager Craig Stammen visited the mound. A brief conference ensued before Pivetta walked off the field and into the clubhouse.
After the Padres’ 7-2 win, Pivetta said he had been sick going into the game. However, he declined to discuss the specifics of his arm injury.
“Obviously, I didn’t feel good,” Pivetta said. “I came out of the game.”
Pivetta said his injury was “not correlated” to the elbow flexor strain that sidelined him for a month in 2024, when he pitched for the Boston Red Sox. Meanwhile, Stammen likened the latest ailment to what Pivetta felt last month, when he skipped a Cactus League start because of what the team, at the time, described as arm fatigue.
“Very similar; it’s the same thing,” said Stammen, who added that Pivetta’s elbow gradually stiffened as Sunday’s game progressed. “I think we caught it early enough this time. Hopefully, things will be all right, but anytime it’s someone’s elbow, especially a pitcher, it’s reason for caution. And that’s probably why we took him out of the game when we did.”
When informed of the comparison Stammen had drawn, Pivetta again declined to go into detail.
“To be honest with you, I’m perplexed,” Pivetta said. “I think just take it day by day. … The human body’s different. People feel things differently. I’m just trying to process it and work through it myself. And I think over the next coming days, I’ll probably see how it feels and be able to dictate what type of plan I want to move forward (with).”
Though the extent of the injury remains to be seen — Stammen said he was not yet sure whether Pivetta would undergo imaging — the Padres can ill afford to lose their top pitcher for an extended stretch. Pivetta earned his first Opening Day start last month after a career-best season in which he posted a 2.87 ERA and placed sixth in National League Cy Young voting. This spring, amid questions about the depth of the rotation, he was again projected to be San Diego’s most reliable starter.
The same rotation has thus far exceeded expectations, pitching to 3.67 ERA during the Padres’ 10-6 start. Young right-hander Randy Vásquez has especially impressed, with a 1.02 ERA through three outings. At the same time, team officials believe veteran Joe Musgrove’s return from Tommy John surgery has been delayed until at least June. And the Padres have gotten mixed results from reclamation projects Walker Buehler and Germán Márquez.
Should Pivetta have to miss time, the Padres could turn to knuckleballer Matt Waldron, who has made three scoreless rehab starts after undergoing hemorrhoid surgery in February. Right-hander Griffin Canning, who is returning from an Achilles rupture he suffered in June, could become an option later this month. Lefty JP Sears is another candidate to join the rotation, at least temporarily.
“I feel comfortable with any of those guys taking the ball for us,” Stammen said.
Still, the Padres would feel far more comfortable with Pivetta continuing to lead their rotation amid a critical season. Pivetta, 33, is in the second year of a four-year, $55 million contract. He can opt out of the deal and re-enter free agency in November, which has been widely expected since his emergence last year. Now, however, he and the team are facing renewed questions.