San Diego Padres Could Look to Sacramento For Another Deal with A's

The A's and Padres make a lot of sense as trade partners once again, but this time, with the roles reversed

Jul 23, 2021; Miami, Florida, USA; A general view of a San Diego Padres hat and glove in the dugout prior to the game between the Miami Marlins and the San Diego Padres at loanDepot park. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images | Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

The San Diego Padres and nomad Athletics came together on arguably the biggest trade of the deadline last summer, when the A's sent All Star closer Mason Miller (and JP Sears) to San Diego in exchange for the No. 3 prospect in baseball, Leo De Vries, along with a number of other talented pitching prospects.

Could they come together again?

According to Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic, the Padres are still looking to add a starter, but they may be looking to trade right-hander Nick Pivetta before scouring the free agent market. Pivetta signed a four year, $55 million contract last spring, but he was only paid $1.75 million of that contract for the 2025 campaign.

The 32-year-old righty will be owed $20.5 million in 2026, $14 million in 2027, and then $18 million in the final year of his deal in 2028, the A's planned first season in Las Vegas. The contract also comes with opt-outs after the 2026 and 2027 seasons. San Diego is a little tight on money, and moving this contract could help them redistribute those funds in a couple of other areas.

This could be the right type of deal for the A's to go after if they're serious about making an upgrade to the rotation because there is a way to make a pretty sizable addition without delving too far into the farm system to make it happen, given that Pivetta is owed roughly $20 million in his one guaranteed year with the team.

The key to this working out would be the A's taking on most, if not all, of Pivetta's contract. That would be doing San Diego a big favor, and would allow them to sign perhaps two veteran starters with less upside to give themselves more depth to weather any injuries that come over the course of the year.

The veteran righty had arguably his best season in 2025, finishing with a 2.87 ERA (3.49 FIP), along with a 26.4% strikeout rate and a 6.9% walk rate. He was a little lucky with the BABIP, which sat at .235, and his LOB% was a little higher than league average at 78.7%, but he commands all of his pitches well, and would at the very least provide plenty of experience to a young A's group.

His four-seamer has been a plus offering for him for years, but it reached another level last season, holding a +21 run value. That one pitch was better than anyone on the A's entire arsenal. Justin Sterner finished the season with a +8 overall, while Pivetta finished fifth in baseball for his complete pitch mix with a +35 run value.

The four pitchers ahead of him were AL Cy Young Tarik Skubal (51), NL Cy Young Paul Skenes (42), 2025 World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (42), and up-and-coming Phillies starter Cristopher Sanchez (37) in his breakout season. Pivetta was better than any of the Mariners pitchers, or any pitcher in the AL West for that matter.

Obviously Pivetta would be a huge boost to the A's starting rotation, even if he's more in line with where his FIP was last season. As we wrote yesterday, the A's have a concerning statistic that came up in their pitching staff projections, and Pivetta could be one way to help combat those numbers.

While the A's likely wouldn't want to give up a top prospect for PIvetta's services, given that he could only be around for one season, they still have some pieces that could be helpful to San Diego. If the Padres want starting depth, the A's have a decent amount, including some guys that don't have a clear path to playing time.

Joey Estes is one guy that comes to mind. He pitched very well at home at the Oakland Coliseum in 2024, holding a 3.26 ERA, but struggled to the tune of a 6.90 ERA on the road. Last year, without the foul ground and the space of the Coliseum, he didn't last long in the big leagues before spending most of the year in Triple-A Las Vegas.

Estes is also from Southern California, and he could be one of those guys that likes being a little closer to home. He may not be an ace, but he should be able to provide some solid innings for the Padres, and he has a bulldog mentality on the mound.

Another option could be Mitch Spence, whom the A's selected in the Rule 5 Draft ahead of the 2024 campaign, and he held a 4.58 ERA (4.21 FIP) in that rookie season, bouncing back and forth between the bullpen and rotation. Last year he was more of a bulk guy, getting into 32 games (8 starts) and holding a 5.10 ERA.

With so many other pitching options for the A's to consider, and ones that they haven't seen anything from yet, Spence could be a change of scenery candidate if the right opportunity comes up.

Moving Pivetta for young, controllable and cost-effective starters is a smart play for the Padres. They currently have three starting pitchers on their 40-man roster that are not already projected to be in the big leagues, and a couple more on the IL that will be missing time at least to begin the season.

For the A's to acquire Pivetta, it would take more than either Estes or Spence (or even both), even if they're taking on the entirety of the contract. After the season he had, finishing sixth in the NL Cy Young voting, he'll take some prospect capital—but not nearly as much as it would if he didn't have at least $20 million attached to him.

The one fairly sizable concern here is that if you're the A's and you make this move, what happens if he doesn't come close to replicating the year he had in 2025? From 2017-2024 he'd made it into 223 games and held a career ERA of 4.76 (4.36 FIP).

While that is all true, he was already performing a little better the last four seasons, holding a 4.33 ERA from 2021-24, racking up 2.3 bWAR per season. He was a slightly better than league average pitcher in that span, and those types of pitchers have been costing roughly what they'd have to pay Pivetta.

The concern here would be if he flopped in Sacramento, but then opted into the 2027 season, adding more payroll to the A's ledger. If he pitches well, he could be out the door. That part of the equation is a bit of a lose-lose, but it's also expected to be factored into any trade negotiation. It's just finding that acceptable common ground that can be tough in these deals.

He's not a sure thing, but he's coming off a great season, and the optics of this deal are really what you'd be after. For the fans in Sacramento, they'd see this and get excited to come out to a game. This would also reach anyone that's waiting for them in Las Vegas, as they'd have potentially another player to look forward to in 2028.

Most importantly, this would signal to the players around the league that the A's are going to be making moves, and will be competitive in 2026 and beyond. That can either be taken as a warning, or an invitation to come and join them.