Nick Pivetta nearing Padres return after bullpen session at Petco Park

Nick Pivetta is reportedly nearing a return to the San Diego Padres' active roster, with a bullpen session at Petco Park this weekend serving as the next checkpoint in a rehab process that has stretched across the better part of five months. Per MLB Trade Rumors' Mark Polishuk, Padres brass will be on hand to evaluate Pivetta during the session — the kind of audience that tends to signal a decision is getting close.

What happened

Pivetta's rehab assignment hit an early snag when he left a minor league outing on August 4 due to elbow discomfort, halting what had already been a lengthy recovery from a flexor strain that sent him to the injured list in mid-April. Before that injury ended his spring, he had managed four starts for San Diego, compiling a 4.50 ERA across 16 innings.

Since resuming the assignment, the right-hander has looked progressively more like a pitcher building toward something. He returned to throw three innings with A-level Lake Elsinore on August 25, then followed that with 4 1/3 shutout innings for Triple-A El Paso on August 30. Per Polishuk, those two outings covered 47 pitches and then 64 pitches, respectively — a pitch-count arc that points toward the 80-pitch range in a potential third minor league start, should the Padres elect to stretch him out further before any activation.

The bullpen session this weekend is designed to clarify whatever comes next. Padres manager Craig Stammen, speaking to the San Diego Union-Tribune's Jeff Sanders and other reporters, said the session would prepare Pivetta for his next start, while noting that the location of that start had not yet been determined. Stammen referred to Pivetta specifically as a starter, though he did not close the door on a relief role, adding: "I think all those options are on the table."

Why it matters

The Padres' rotation has been navigating injuries for virtually the entire season, and Pivetta's potential return arrives at a moment when San Diego is pressing for a wild card slot. Per Polishuk, neither Pivetta nor Stammen felt the flexor strain would put the right-hander's season in jeopardy when it first occurred — though the IL stint has run considerably longer than either anticipated.

The club has options for how to deploy him even if he is not fully stretched out. Polishuk notes that the Padres could use Pivetta in a limited-capacity starting role, with another pitcher lined up to throw multiple relief innings behind him in piggyback fashion. That same framework is reportedly being considered for Joe Musgrove, another rehabbing starter who is dealing with arm fatigue between his minor league outings — a situation that has drawn its own separate scrutiny in recent days.

The piggyback model is not a consolation prize so much as a practical tool: it lets a pitcher contribute meaningful innings before he is fully built up, while keeping the workload manageable. For a club chasing October, a partial allotment of Pivetta innings is still an allotment worth having.

The numbers

The most relevant arithmetic right now is the pitch-count progression: 47, then 64, with 80 potentially next. That is the ladder a starting pitcher climbs back to competitive readiness, and Pivetta appears to be on it.

The rotation context around him has shifted considerably since April. Per Polishuk, Padres starters have posted a collective 3.24 ERA since the All-Star break — the second-best rotation in baseball over that stretch. The deadline additions of Robbie Ray and Casey Mize reinforced a group that also includes staff ace Michael King, Randy Vasquez, and Walker Buehler, who per the report has been pitching much better over the last six weeks. Pivetta would be joining a rotation that no longer needs him to be its load-bearing wall — which is, frankly, the best possible situation for a pitcher still finding his footing after a long absence.

Where the club stands

San Diego sits at 74-67 (.525), second in the NL West and 10 games back in the division, currently riding a one-game winning streak. The Padres host the New York Yankees on Sunday, September 6, with Michael King drawing the start against Gerrit Cole at Petco Park — the same venue where Pivetta is expected to throw his bullpen session this weekend. Monday and Tuesday bring the Washington Nationals to Petco Park for a pair of home games.

The expanded September roster, which allows clubs to carry 28 players, gives San Diego additional flexibility in how it manages returning pitchers and workload distribution. That context matters when evaluating how the club might deploy Pivetta or Musgrove in limited roles without straining the rest of the staff.

A week removed from Musgrove's return timeline being reported as uncertain due to arm fatigue, and with the Padres' wild card positioning requiring wins in bunches, the front office is clearly trying to account for every available arm. Pivetta's bullpen session this weekend is the most concrete step either rehabbing starter has taken toward the active roster in recent days.

What we don't know yet

Stammen's comments leave the role question genuinely open. Whether Pivetta returns as a traditional starter, a piggyback option, or a reliever has not been determined, per Polishuk's report. The location of his next start — should the bullpen session go well — is also undecided, meaning a third minor league outing remains possible before any roster move.

The Musgrove situation carries its own separate uncertainty. Per Polishuk, arm fatigue has been a factor between his minor league starts, and the piggyback framework is described as something that could be in the works — not something the club has announced. The Padres have not made any declaration about either pitcher's timeline or role.

What to watch

The bullpen session at Petco Park this weekend is the immediate signal to monitor. If Pivetta comes through it cleanly with Padres brass watching, the conversation shifts quickly from "is he coming back?" to "how are they going to use him?" Stammen's framing — all options on the table — suggests the club wants to see that session before committing to an answer.

Beyond Pivetta, the Musgrove situation bears watching in parallel. Two rehabbing starters with uncertain roles, a rotation already performing at a high level since the All-Star break, and a wild card race that does not pause for anyone: the Padres are managing a genuinely complicated pitching puzzle in September, and the next few days should clarify at least one of its pieces.