Back on October 15, A.J. Preller described the Padres‘ rotation as «a blank canvas.» Three weeks later, that stopped being optimistic spin and became the most accurate description of the roster. Seven pitchers who started games for San Diego in 2026 are now free agents, and the only guaranteed starter under contract for 2027 is Randy Vásquez. What sounded like flexibility is starting to look like an emergency.
King opts out, Pivetta declined: the week that changed everything
The biggest blow landed October 29, when Michael King exercised the opt-out clause on his contract, walking away from two years and $58 million remaining on the three-year, $75 million deal he had signed just the previous offseason. King finished 2026 with 32 starts, 185 innings, a career-best 3.21 ERA, and 4.3 bWAR — the kind of numbers that tend to get rewarded handsomely on the open market.
On November 1, the club declined its $14 million team option on Nick Pivetta for 2027. Pivetta’s right elbow allowed him just eight starts in 2026, as a flexor strain kept him on the injured list for more than 130 days. There’s a contractual wrinkle worth noting: the injury triggered a clause that converted Pivetta’s original player option into a team option — and had San Diego exercised it, Pivetta would have held an $18 million player option for 2028. Declining was both a health decision and a math decision. Multiple sources report the club remains interested in re-signing him on new terms.
That same day, San Diego also declined mutual options on Lucas Giolito and Griffin Canning, both of whom missed significant time with elbow inflammation. Walker Buehler, Robbie Ray, and Casey Mize all reached free agency when their contracts expired at season’s end.
The result: the rotation that carried the Padres to their third consecutive postseason — a first in franchise history — essentially dissolved in the span of a week.
One starter left, and a very busy offseason ahead
Randy Vásquez is now the most important name in San Diego’s 2027 rotation plans, and that was nobody’s intention. Joe Musgrove is returning from Tommy John surgery with an uncertain role. Yu Darvish is facing retirement rumors. The bullpen offers more stability — Wandy Peralta exercised his $4.45 million option to return, and Kyle Hart is also coming back — but the rotation is essentially a blank page.
The financial picture adds pressure. With known salaries and arbitration projections, the Padres are already looking at roughly $180 million in 2027 payroll for 15 players before signing a single pitcher. New owners José E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones have pledged to go all in, but this offseason is the first real test of that promise.
This year’s starting pitcher market is headlined by Tarik Skubal, with King, Freddy Peralta, and Sonny Gray as the next tier. Preller has a five-day exclusive negotiating window with King before he hits the open market — and King has said publicly that he wants to come back to San Diego.
If this canvas is going to have anything painted on it before Opening Day 2027, that conversation is the first brushstroke.
