The San Diego Padres arrived at the Peoria Sports Center on Wednesday in preparation for spring training, but there is still some uncertainty about their starting rotation. However, the problem was quickly resolved.

Right pitcher Nick Pivetta has agreed a four-year, $55 million contract with the San Diego Padres, according to official sources. The news came hours after the team held their first official practice sessions for pitchers and catchers in Arizona. The contract includes opt-outs after the 2026 and 2027 seasons. The contract has not yet been officially confirmed by the club and is subject to a medical examination.

According to Mark Feinsand, Pivita will receive a $3 million signing bonus, plus a $1 million salary in 2025, followed by $19 million, $14 million and $18 million for the next three seasons.

After a relatively quiet offseason in San Diego, the addition of Pivita has brought some clarity to the Padres' roster (and perhaps raised some new questions).

Theoretically, Pivita would be the No. 4 starting pitcher in the Padres' rotation behind Dylan Cease, Michael King and Yu Darvish — the final spot would be determined by the Spring Training competition. However, Sis (and to a lesser extent Kim) has been the subject of trade rumors, which could reheat with the addition of Pivita.

Pivita was a reliable stalwart starting pitcher for the Red Sox from 2021-2024, averaging 156 innings per season with an ERA of 4.33 and a strikeout rate of 26.9%. In the 2023-2024 period, he has performed even better, with a 4.09 ERA and a 30% strikeout rate, ranking fifth among pitchers who have pitched at least 250 innings.

Pivita's improved strikeout rate over the past two seasons can be attributed in part to his excellent pitch and the introduction of a 2023 ball, the sweeper. In the last two years, he has pitched 36.1 percent of these two balls, with opponents swinging 31.3 percent and an OPS of just 0.627. Last year, he increased the use of the slider to 25.3% and the swing rate to 35%.

During the 2017-2020 period, Pivita had an up-and-down run with the Phillies before being traded to the Red Sox in August 2020. Since then, he's grown into a reliable mid-to-late rotation pitcher, able to close the league's average ERA over 150 innings or so. With his improved strikeout ability and experience pitching back, he could even become a useful multi-inning back-up pitcher in October.