The San Diego Padres have paused Nick Pivetta’s rehab progression, according to manager Craig Stammen.
On Tuesday, Pivetta exited his rehab outing early with tightness in his right elbow. After throwing just over a dozen pitches, he stormed off the mound and walked straight into the clubhouse in a dramatic scene.
While there hasn’t been a setback since then, the Padres are taking extra precaution with Pivetta’s recovery.
“Any time someone comes off the mound in the middle of an inning when they’re rehabbing an elbow injury, we’ve got to pause,” Stammen said before the San Diego’s high-stakes series finale against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Padres secured a key victory over Arizona on Thursday night, but what preceded the 5-1 win was Pivetta missing his regularly scheduled bullpen session. The right-hander won’t make his next scheduled rehab start on time.
This season, Pivetta has made just four starts for the club. He has a 4.50 ERA with 24 strikeouts across 16 innings of work. But he posted a 2.87 ERA in 2025, where he finished sixth in National League Cy Young voting.
Thus, Pivetta’s return would evidently boost the rotation even with trade deadline acquisitions Casey Mize and Robbie Ray.
If Pivetta spends more than 130 days on the injured list with a specified injury, his player options for the 2026 and 2027 seasons will essentially turn into club options. The looming deadline to reach that time period is Aug. 22, so there’s certainly more on the line than just returning to help the rotation for Pivetta.
The 33-year-old is owed $33.5 million over the next two years.
There is not a set timeline for Pivetta to resume his progression, and it is possible his 2026 season is lost.
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