NY Mets should swarm toward Padres trade candidate they wanted last winter

It didn’t make much sense for the New York Mets to sign Nick Pivetta last offseason after adding Juan Soto. He would’ve cost them two additional draft picks in addition to the ones they gave up by adding Soto. Pivetta has long been a highly-hyped pitcher who never quite reached the peak of what scouts and coaches said he could. For that reason and more, he was a name mentioned in multiple Mets rumors last offseason.

This past year, with the San Diego Padres on a unique contract, Pivetta was officially unlocked. A 2.87 ERA and sixth-place finish in the Cy Young, he put together a career year while earning $1.75 million. That’s it. However, his contract jumps up to $19.75 million this year with reasonable amounts (if he doesn’t opt out) in each of the next two seasons.

According to The Athletic’s Dennis Lin, the Padres are listening to offers for Pivetta. He’s someone the Mets should swarm toward as other teams hold onto their starters.

The Mets and Padres match up well for a potential Nick Pivetta trade

The Mets want a frontline starting pitcher. The Padres want to shed salary. It’s win-win. Because the Mets aren’t ready to sign anyone for significant years, Pivetta fits in perfectly to their short plans. Is he the ace we’d put at the top of our list? Not even close. But as an improvement with potential to repeat the kind of year he just had at such a reasonable rate, how can they resist?

San Diego’s financial woes have had us dreaming of several trade scenarios for weeks. Fernando Tatis Jr. suddenly became the dream target upon the trade of Brandon Nimmo. Reliever Jason Adam is in his last year of arbitration eligibility, projected to make a little over $6 million. No rumors have suggested San Diego is listening to offers for either of them.

The thing about a trade for Pivetta is it wouldn’t take too much creativity. The Mets take him and his full contract. The Padres are rewarded with prospects/young MLB-ready players. Their farm system has been torn apart from past trades, leaving them in need of some assistance. Not worth a Brandon Sproat or Jonah Tong, someone like Ryan Clifford and a lesser pitching prospect might be good enough for a Padres club with more reasons to trade Pivetta than changing his scenery.

Add Pivetta now and look for another opportunity for the bigger addition later on. The Mets aren’t one pitcher away. Two, however, might make them reinvented enough to get a championship patent.