One Injury the Padres Can't Afford Besides Fernando Tatis Jr

The San Diego Padres can't afford to lose superstar Fernando Tatis Jr, but another injury that would cost the team is the loss of Nick Pivetta.

Pivetta is poised to once again anchor the starting rotation for the second consecutive season. The right-hander joined the Padres last offseason one a four-year, $55 million deal and unexpectedly led the team in ERA (2.87), wins (13) and innings pitched (181.2).

Pivetta was predicted to be a middle or back-end rotation pitcher in 2025, but he instead held down the unit while injuries and struggles affected Michael King, Dylan Cease and Yu Darvish.

This season figures to pan out similarly in terms of Pivetta's importance for the Padres rotation.

Cease is no longer with the Padres as he signed a seven-year, $210 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays in free agency this winter.

Darvish is set to miss the entire 2026 season because of injury. That left the Padres with three staples in the rotation: Pivetta, King, and Joe Musgrove. The latter two present injury concerns as King spent time on the injured list twice in 2025 and Musgrove is coming off of Tommy John surgery.

Musgrove isn't on the Padres' Opening Day roster and is instead beginning the season on the IL after suffering a setback this spring. There is no timeline for his return.

“Everything’s good with Joe. We’re just taking that little breather, like we talked about," manager Craig Stammen said. "Probably not making the beginning of the season, but we’ll have him at some point. Excited for him to get over this little hump, take a little breather and then get back at it."

Michael King's Performance This Spring Leaves Doubt For Success in 2026

Musgrove's injury leaves Pivetta and King with the burden of performing up to expectations as their depleted rotation opens the year. That could be a tough task for King as he struggled this spring, sporting a 10.19 ERA with 17 strikeouts across 17.2 innings pitched. He gave up nine home runs in Cactus League play.

King's shaky performance this spring leaves doubt for how the right-hander will perform once the season begins.

Lo and behold, Pivetta has emerged as the rotation's most important starter. He simply can't afford to get injured.

The right-hander already suffered a bit of a scare in camp as he was dealing with arm fatigue that paused his progression.

“I would just say just regular arm fatigue,” Pivetta said when describing what he was dealing with. “We have a little bit of time. I’m able to just take a step back. We won’t be talking about it once the season gets going. But I think just for me right now, I have the time to take a step back, work on a couple things, get the rest I need and then just go out and again. Take the time now to make sure that I am healthy throughout the season, I think that’s the priority.”

Pivetta is the Padres' Opening Day starter on Thursday against the Detroit Tigers.