Padres Officially Lose 4 More Players to Free Agency

Three pitchers and one infielder officially joined the free agent class of 2026-27.

San Diego Padres pitcher Griffin Canning (right) celebrates with catcher Freddy Fermin after defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on Aug. 4, 2026. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Add four more free agents to the list of players who might have played their final game with the San Diego Padres.

The team announced Sunday that it declined the 2027 option in pitcher Nick Pivetta's contract, as previously reported by Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Three other Padres joined the free agent class of 2026-27 when infielder Miguel Andujar declined his end of a mutual option, and the Padres declined their ends of the mutual options with pitchers Griffin Canning and Lucas Giolito.

The Padres also confirmed previous reports that two left-handers will remain under contract for 2027: Wandy Peralta exercised his player option for next year, and Yuki Matsui declined to opt out of his deal.

We have made the following roster moves: pic.twitter.com/euRJZ2TGvJ

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) November 1, 2026

Pivetta was the biggest surprise among the four decisions. He had the best season of his career in 2025, his first season in San Diego, but missed most of 2026 due to flexor tendon complications.

In eight regular season starts, Pivetta had a 2.86 ERA. In two postseason starts, he allowed three runs over 7.2 innings, and figured to begin the 2027 season healthy.

A clause in Pivetta's contract, a four-year, $55 million deal signed in 2025, was triggered to give San Diego the option to terminate the remaining two years and $32 million on the deal.

With Pivetta, Giolito and Canning hitting free agency, the Padres have several openings in their rotation to fill. Ace Michael King, who appeared in three of the Padres' six postseason games, would be the most significant loss.

Giolito was injured most of the season and went 2-3 with a 5.16 ERA in seven regular season starts — a shadow of the pitcher who went 10-4 for the Boston Red Sox in 2025.

Canning pitched 88.2 innings between the starting rotation and the bullpen, but also barely resembled the pitcher he was in 2025. After going 7-3 with a 3.77 ERA in 16 starts for the New York Mets last year, he went 5-9 with a 5.68 ERA for the Padres in 2026.

Andujar slashed .259/.303/.423 in 74 games. His 101 OPS+ was useful for a team that struggled with lineup depth in the first half of the season, but Andujar added little in the field. He spent most of his time at DH, subbing in sparingly at first and third base.

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