Nick Pivetta hit the injured list with a right elbow flexor strain in April of the 2026 regular season, dealing a massive blow to the San Diego Padres’ already meager starting rotation.

The team certainly struggled afterward, but since then the Padres have really made things work. Going through the motions of below .500 ball woes — to the excitement of difficult upsets and high-stakes series wins. However, through it all, not much has changed on Pivetta’s end.

Joe Musgrove and Pivetta began their rehab stints at the same time but ended up in very different positions.

While Java-Joe left his start at Lake Elsinore feeling good, Pivetta abruptly exited his turn after only throwing a handful of pitches. Leaving the game with what many thought was an injury.

However, Pivetta did throw 20 to 30 pitches off a mound in the Storm’s batting cage following his unceremonious exit, reportedly feeling better.

When asked about the event a few days later, Pivetta was notably tight-lipped. The Padres paused his throwing rehabilitation, and Pivetta said he was taking the matter “day-by-day.”

At the moment, there’s no concrete timeline for Pivetta to return, and he has no scheduled rehab starts.

With the season on the brink of completion and the playoffs within reach, is a return by Pivetta in 2026 even a good idea?

When Pivetta exited, the 2026 Padres were a very different team. Fast forward to today, the Padres have improved in nearly all aspects. The formerly struggling rotation has found its stride since the trade deadline, after adding Casey Mize and Robbie Ray to the roster. However, their recent additions have only made things more complex for Pivetta.

Let’s face it, there’s a very good reason Pivetta won’t see a major league mound before Aug. 22.

Nick Pivetta signed a four-year, $55 million deal with San Diego ahead of the 2025 season. The final two years of his contract are player options. However, his contract also includes a very specific injury clause. Should Pivetta miss 130 consecutive days of play, his 2027 14M player option becomes a team option, and his 28 option becomes void. The aforementioned date of Aug. 22 is the deadline.

It’s more or less an impossibility that he makes the projected deadline, so what’s left is more or less ancillary.

With that being said, there’s still a future for Pivetta on the Padres. This is regardless of whether the Padres take his 14M club option next year. It’s worth noting that the newest starter acquisitions from the trade deadline are both rentals. When the season ends, they’ll be hitting free agency, and there will still be vacant spots on the Padres’ starting rotation. With that in mind, it’s not a bad idea for the Padres to try to retain Pivetta to secure what’s still an important piece of the Padres’ rotation. It’s unlikely the Padres do take his 27 option. However, that doesn’t rule out the possibility of a new contract.

When asked about how he feels about his lost time this year, Pivetta sounded sanguine:

“I look at it in the eyes of like enjoying to watch my teammates have success and play and win baseball games. I don’t think about it as like woe is me, I’m missing out.”

It’s clear the Canadian-born pitcher has a lot of respect for the club and is still willing to give it his all. While he probably shouldn’t pitch for the Padres in 2026, his role with the club is far from lost.

Should the Padres make the playoffs, that opens up a whole other month of play for the Friars. Not unlike Michael King in the 2025 postseason, a bullpen appearance isn’t out of the question for Pivetta.

With the San Diego Padres, Pivetta spun a career year in 2025. Ending the season with a 13-5 record and a career-best 2.87 ERA and 0.985 WHIP. In addition, the 33-year-old right-hander finished sixth in Cy Young voting.

Fabian Garcia