San Diego Padres name Nick Pivetta their Opening Day starter

Last year Nick Pivetta didn’t join the Padres until the first week of Spring Training. He opened the season as the 4th man in the rotation. By the end of the year he was San Diego’s most reliable starter and the obvious choice to start Game 1 of the National League Wild Card Series at Wrigley Field.

Pivetta is riding that success to the front of the Padres rotation. On Monday, the Friars officially announced Pivetta will be their Opening Day starter, the first time in his career he’s earned the honor of starting Game 1 of the season.

“I think you just kind of look at the guys that have gotten Opening Days in the past that I played with and they’re all great pitchers, great human beings,” says Pivetta. “So, it’s just an honor to be able to get that.”

Pivetta will be on the mound on Thursday, March 26 when the Friars open against the Detroit Tigers and he’ll have his work cut out for him. Detroit will be starting two-time defending American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal.

The Padres narrowed their choices to Pivetta and 2025 Opening Day starter Michael King. Pivetta’s performance throughout 2025 was a major factor in him earning the honor.

“He was our best pitcher throughout last season,” says Padres manager Craig Stammen. “He was our number one starter when we took on the Cubs in the Wild Card series. He’s pitched great in Spring Training, and he deserves to get the Opening Day nod.”

Landing in San Diego has taken Pivetta’s career to a whole new place. In his first eight years, split between Philadelphia and Boston, he never had an earned run average under 4.07 or won more than 10 games. His first campaign in San Diego yielded a 13-5 record and a 2.87 ERA. Much like many of the pitchers who get a chance to work with Padres pitching coach Ruben Niebla, the 33-year-old Pivetta seems to be evolving in his new environment.

“I attribute it to what I do in the off season, how I go about my business. But, you know, the people that are in the room around me, the people that I’ve learned from since I’ve been here, trying to shape the mold of being what it is to be a Padre, and that’s helped me out a lot and put me in the right direction,” says Pivetta.

Pivetta missed one Cactus League start in mid-March due to arm fatigue, an issue he says is a non-issue.

“I’m good. I feel very confident in where I’m at with my body,” says Pivetta. “There should be no setbacks, no delays. I felt like I came out with my last start very comfortable with how my body felt.”

King likely slots in as the #2 starter. After that, there are some decisions to make. Joe Musgrove, Matt Waldron, and Griffin Canning will start the year on the injured list but could be ready to return by the end of April.

Walker Buehler, a former Dodgers All-Star who signed as a non-roster invitee in the middle of Spring Training, has been told he made the team and it’s likely not as another bullpen weapon. Randy Vasquez has presumably pitched well enough to earn a spot in the rotation. The 5th and final spot seems destined to go to veteran German Marquez, a former Rockies ace who made three Opening Day starts in Colorado.