A former Boston Red Sox pitcher becomes the San Diego Padres' first major offseason addition.

MLB Rumors: A former Boston Red Sox pitcher becomes the San Diego Padres' first major offseason addition.

Pivetta, who turns 32 on Friday, inked a four-year, $55M contract that includes opt-outs after Years 2 and 3. The contract averages out to $13.75M per year, but interestingly, the Padres structured the agreement to pay the right-hander just $1M in 2025, along with a $3M signing bonus. 

Pivetta also had a one-year qualifying offer on the table from the Boston Red Sox, which he declined in hopes of landing a long-term pact (leaving millions of dollars on the table in 2025). The Padres will now surrender a draft pick to Boston as a result.

This arrangement follows a lot of turmoil for San Diego this offseason, especially in relation to the supposedly resolved ownership dispute. But because of that conundrum, the Padres had to postpone a number of free-agent attempts, such as outfielder Jurickson Profar joining the Atlanta Braves and Japanese star pitcher Roki Sasaki joining the Dodgers.

Pivetta is currently coming off a 2024 season in which he pitched 145.2 innings with a 4.14 ERA in 27 appearances (26 starts) for the Red Sox. In those 145.2 innings, he notably struck out 172 batters, averaging almost 11 strikeouts per nine innings. 

Or perhaps the Padres view Pivetta as part of a reload for 2025, joining an experienced rotation that already has right-handers Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove, along with the aforementioned Cease and King.

Regardless, this is an intriguing move for San Diego, whose president of baseball operations and general manager A.J. Preller is known for his penchant to make a big splash at one point or another.