An early look at the battle for what is almost certainly one available starting job, with another arm likely to be added.
PEORIA, Ariz. — There is danger in taking everything a manager says literally. It is best to sometimes search for the implied message in his words.“We’ve got a lot of opening-day starters,” he declared when jokingly asked whether he was ready to name a starting pitcher for the Padres’ March 26 season opener against the Tigers.
In that the nod generally goes to a team’s top pitcher from the previous seasons, there is just one candidate for the Padres this spring. It would be deeply shocking if Nick Pivetta is healthy and does not receive the first opening-day assignment of his career. Pivetta was among the 10 or 15 best starting pitchers in the major leagues in 2025, his first season with the Padres, posting a career-best 2.87 ERA in a career-high 181⅔ innings. What Stammen was trying to impart was that the Padres are pleased with the top of their rotation. Michael King, the opening-day starter in 2025, is back after testing free agency. And Joe Musgrove, who started the home opener in 2022 and in 2024 started the season’s second and fourth games, returns after a season spent rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.What remains to be seen is who comes after Pivetta, King and Musgrove. “We’ve got good pitchers to choose from,” Stammen said. “Obviously, it’s headlined with Joe, Nick and Michael. We feel good about those three. And then it’s a competition for four, five, six and seven.” The Padres are seeking a veteran starter to add to that competition. They don’t have much money to give that pitcher, so the search is likely to last at least a few more days while prices come down as time before the start of the season runs short. A team generally uses between eight and 15 pitchers to make the requisite 162 starts in a regular season. The Padres run nine deep in pitchers with significant major league starting experience and have another three minor leaguers who should be mentioned as having a shot.Randy Vasquez #98 of the San Diego Padres pitches during spring training workouts at the Peoria Sports Complex on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026 in Peoria, Ariz.The 27-year-old right-hander has been a godsend since joining the Padres in 2024, filling out innings and giving the team a chance to win in the majority of his 46 starts. He was better than that last season, posting a 3.84 ERA over 133⅔ innings. The Padres were 17-9 in his starts. After yo-yoing between the major leagues and Triple-A the past two seasons, he cannot be optioned in 2026. Triston McKenzie #25 of the San Diego Padres pitches during spring training workouts at the Peoria Sports Complex on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026 in Peoria, Ariz.The 33-year-old left-hander has made 162 starts and logged almost 1,000 innings in the big leagues. That makes him the most experienced of those competing for a rotation spot, and he is the typical “crafty lefty.” He is also coming off a season in which he did not pitch following flexor tendon surgery in September 2024. Gonzalez has a major league assignment clause that allows him to leave for another MLB club if he is not on the Padres’ season-opening roster.The 28-year-old right-hander has been set back by injuries and ineffectiveness since he struck out 190 batters in 191⅓ innings in 2022. Of his 88 MLB appearances, 80 have been starts. All of those were for the Cleveland Guardians, who designated him for assignment last April. He spent time in the Arizona Complex League and worked his way back to Triple-A. He is in camp on a minor-league deal.The 29-year-old lefty is looking to reset the start of the Padres portion of his career after posting a 5.47 ERA in five starts for them last season. Before being acquired in the same deal that brought closer Mason Miller, Sears had a 4.59 ERA over 102 career starts for the Athletics and New York Yankees. He can be optioned.It is probably a matter of making the roster or moving on for the 29-year-old knuckleballer, as he is out of options. Some in the organization have him as their early projection to win the fifth spot, in part because they believe in his unique arsenal and because of the memory of what he was able to do for a good portion of 2024. Over 14 starts from May to July that season, he posted a 2.76 ERA across 84⅔ innings. Confidence and a firm grasp of how much to trust his knuckleball are seen as his biggest challenges. He allowed four runs in 4⅔ innings in his only major league start last season. Kyle Hart #68 of the San Diego Padres runs to the next field during spring training workouts at the Peoria Sports Complex on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026 in Peoria, Ariz.The 33-year-old lefty showed promise coming out of the bullpen after making six starts at the beginning of ‘25 following his return from Korea. Hart will be “stretched out” in spring, though there are strong indications he is considered most useful providing multiple innings out of the bullpen. However,The 23-year-old left-hander throws 95 mph. So that’s promising. He needs to improve his control. After a full 2025 season in Double-A, he is almost certainly headed back to San Antonio or to Triple-A El Paso with the idea he could be an emergency starter in the big leagues.The Padres see the 23-year-old righty in San Diego sooner than later, though likely not at the start of the season. He finished ’25 in Double-A. Command of his upper-90s fastball and plus slider will likely determine when he ascends.The 26-year-old left-hander is 1-0 in one big-league start. That was in July 2023 for the Padres, when he allowed three runs over five innings in Detroit. He was sent back to Double-A the next day and traded a week-and-a-half later to the Pirates as part of the deal that brought Rich Hill and Ji Man Choi to the Padres. Wolf was let go by the Pirates at the conclusion of spring training in 2024, and he resigned with the Padres. He has spent the past two season between Double-A and Triple-A. A five-pitch mix makes him a candidate to give the Padres a start in a pinch.Prominent San Diego restaurateur opens his most ambitious venue yetLa Jolla’s Sand Castle mansion reduces price by $15.5 millionLong-sought Coaster extension to San Diego Convention Center will break ground this yearJudge upholds restraining order, Rady Children’s to continue gender care
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