The Padres need pitching, especially in the rotation. Luis Severino is a veteran worth adding at the right price.

Joe Musgrove will miss the entire 2025 season, leaving a gaping hole in the Padres’ starting rotation.

While they still have Dylan Cease, Michael King, and Yu Darvish, it would behoove them to add more veteran depth.

While the Padres likely will not write blank checks left and right like they did a few offseasons ago, it seems as if they will spend a bit more than they did last winter. There are several viable starting pitchers on the free agent market that could fill that need for San Diego. They should opt for one that is not young and expensive since they mainly need them to cover the loss of Musgrove in 2025.

Luis Severino will be 31 years old when the 2025 season starts and likely won’t get a long-term deal anywhere. The Dominican hurler is coming off of a solid albeit unspectacular season with the New York Mets. He made 31 starts in the regular season, accumulating 182 innings, which was the most for him since 2018. With that workload, he posted a 3.91 ERA and 101 ERA+. Combined with a 4.21 FIP, it suggests he had a slightly above-average season on the mind.

The thing is, that’s frankly all the Padres need. They need a veteran to take the ball every fifth day and give their team a chance to win by going five or six innings deep and allowing four runs or less. During the Mets’ run to the NLCS, Severino made three starts and tossed 16 2/3 innings in the postseason with a respectable 3.24 ERA.

He also was just one of 16 starting pitchers in 2024 to throw a complete game shutout.

Bringing him to San Diego would add someone with playoff experience (60 career playoff innings). He has been in a rotation for many team with championship aspirations, pitching for the Yankees from 2015 to 2023 before flipping to the other side of town. The right-hander does not shrink from the spotlight.

The Padres would likely need him to make some big starts down the stretch in 2025 if they put pen to paper on a deal.

Speaking of a deal, what would it cost to bring Severino in? FanGraphs projects him to get a three-year, $48 million deal ($16 million per season). For reference, that is how much Yu Darvish made last season. Granted, the market for pitchers seems to increase every season. That is likely too rich for the Padres at this juncture. If the Padres can get Severino for somewhere around what he made with the Mets last season ($13 million), that would be more comfortable.

However, Severino turned down a $21 million qualifying offer from the Mets. That suggests he thinks he can get that or better annually on a multi-year deal elsewhere. If that’s the case, the Padres should be wary. While Severino was solid last year, he has an extensive injury history. Between 2019 and 2023, he averaged just 10 starts and 52 innings per season while missing all of 2020.

Yusei Kikuchi just got $21 million per season from the Angels and is a slightly worse pitcher than Severino. Michael Wacha re-signed with the Royals for $17 million. It seems likely Severino will get a sizable raise this season, but if the price comes down and the Padres are patient, these two sides should strike a deal.

Nick Lee

Native of Escondido, CA. Lived in San Diego area for 20 years. Padres fan since childhood (mid-90s). I have been writing since 2014. I currently live near Seattle, WA and am married to a Seattle sports girl. I wore #19 on my high school baseball team for Tony Gwynn. I am a stats and sports history nerd. I attended BYU on the Idaho campus. I also love Star Wars.