Padres' $55 Million Pitcher Opens Up on Unique Contract Structure

The San Diego Padres treaded lightly when it came to signing free agents this offseason, but then general manager A.J. Preller made a last-minute splash, landing Nick Pivetta on a four-year, $55 million contract.

Pivetta's contract is uniquely structured and on Monday, he was on site at the Peoria Sports Complex to discuss it.

“I think it’s a two-way street,” Pivetta said Monday morning. “There’s really good things in there for me and really good things in there for the team.”

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The deal carries an average annual value of $13.75 million for luxury tax purposes, with the Padres currently projected to exceed the threshold by approximately $18 million. However, only $4 million counts against the books this year, including a $3 million signing bonus.

Pivetta is set to earn $19 million in 2026, $14 million in 2027, and $18 million in 2028, with opt-out options available after both the 2026 and 2027 seasons.

The team's backloaded contract structure helps keep this year's payroll around $200 million, a reported target that Padres officials believe will still place them among the league's top payrolls.

For Pivetta, the deal provides long-term security in exchange for passing up a potential bigger payday this year. After being traded from the Nationals to the Phillies as a minor leaguer and later sent to the Red Sox while working to establish himself as a starter, he now has financial stability for the coming seasons.

Boston extended a qualifying offer to Pivetta but the starter wanted something for longer than a year.

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“I think it’s just a conversation I had with my agent with where the market was going,” Pivetta said. “I wanted to see if I could get a more, longer-term deal, some more comfort for me and my wife. Just to kind of know that we’re going to be somewhere for a little bit. I think that’s where I was in my life that moment, and pretty excited just to be here and be able to have this opportunity.”

Pivetta posted a 6-12 record with a 4.14 ERA over 26 starts and one relief appearance for Boston last season.

Over parts of eight major league seasons with the Phillies (2017-20) and Red Sox, Pivetta has compiled a 56-71 record with a 4.76 ERA.

His pitch arsenal last season featured a four-seam fastball averaging 93.9 mph, which he threw 48.6 percent of the time, along with sweepers (25.7 percent), curveballs (16.3 percent), cutters (5.9 percent), and sliders (3.4 percent).

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