Logical NY Mets trade partner remains stuck in a similar holding pattern

The MLB offseason has chosen baby steps over bigger ones with the top names coming off the board in free agency in a scattered format and big trades almost non-existent. The New York Mets did a lot of their letting go early on and are sitting back idly as the market unfolds further.

It sounds like one of their most logical trade partners is taking a similar stance. The San Diego Padres are caught in a strange holding pattern where on one hand they want to add starting pitching and on the other they’re a team that could trade one they already have.

Nick Pivetta’s fascinating contract that goes from $1.75 million in 2025 to $19.75 million this coming year is one they’ve been rumored to have a desire to get out from under. Pivetta was one of the names most regularly mentioned in past Mets rumors involving a trade with the Padres. Still a perfectly logical conclusion for both teams in some regard, both clubs have been in no rush to complete their starting staffs.

The Mets and Padres are doing the same thing: waiting for the other side to blink

It’s almost as if everyone has agreed to a staring contest. The Mets are a match to do everything from trade for Pivetta to sign someone the Padres could want. The Padres could simply keep Pivetta and steal away a Mets target. They could even swap big-league ready pitchers with something as easy as Pivetta for David Peterson plus a prospect. This would save the Padres over $10 million for the coming year while maybe adding a controllable player.

Pivetta isn’t the perfect top of the rotation addition for the Mets, but would certainly be a more proven improvement over a player such as Peterson. He has regularly gone over 150 innings in his career. He’s coming off a career-year that saw him finish sixth in the Cy Young vote. Minimal control with player options after 2026 and 2027, he brings the Mets a little more reliability. What he doesn’t do is give them a truly formidable rotation.

He’s no Freddy Peralta, Tarik Skubal, or even Joe Ryan. Turning 33 in February, he’s a 9-year veteran finally beginning to look like a starter for the upper half of a big league rotation. He sounds like the exact kind of pitcher the Mets would want to acquire and it might not even be an outrageous cost if the goal is to get out from under his contract.

The Padres have multiple needs and if a player like Pivetta is blocking them from doing anything in particular, one would think San Diego might have a little more interest in some of the position players the Mets have to trade away. Mark Vientos is a good power hitting option for them to play some first base and DH. Luisangel Acuna might even be a player they could want should the Mets decide there are better choices for their 2026 roster in that utility role.

The Mets have operated in mysterious ways this offseason, but so have the Padres. They’re known to want to decrease payroll and yet they’ll pay Michael King $25 million. That’s not a move you make if your sole intention is to reduce payroll.

A whole lot of chairs need to be rearranged in free agency and on teams’ rosters. Judging by the way the Mets and Padres have let the idea of a trade linger into mid-January, we can guess there needs to be a domino to fall first. The Padres may want to get their Pivetta replacement first. Good luck to them with a quality arm for under $20 million.