MLB Trade Rumors: Mets Land Starter Nick Pivetta in Proposed Deal

The New York Mets have had a brutal offseason thus far. They brought in Jorge Polanco, but that hardly eases the sting for Mets fans of losing Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz. And on the starting pitching front—an area that is in great need of repair—they've done nothing thus far.

Now, a former Mets general manager, Jim Duquette, now an analyst for MLB Network Radio, has proposed a trade that would bring Nick Pivetta to Queens.

On Mets Hot Stove, @JimDuquetteGM makes a trade proposal for the Mets to acquire Nick Pivetta from the Padres: pic.twitter.com/vIsiJMNllH
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) December 18, 2025

The trade would look like this, per Duquette, on Mets Hot Stove:

NY Mets receive:

Nick Pivetta, SP

San Diego Padres receive:

Brandon Sproat (Mets' No. 5 prospect)
Nick Morabito (No. 13 prospect)
A.J. Ewing (No. 6) or Jett Williams (No. 3)

Seems like an awful lot of prospect punch to give up for a 32-year-old pitcher coming off the best year of his career by far. Pivetta posted a 2.87 ERA with the Padres in 2025, and he had never had an ERA below 4.00 in his previous eight years in the majors. His 0.99 WHIP was also far better than his next-best number in that department, at 1.12.

But a significant mechanical adjustment, plus an improved pitch mix took Pivetta to new levels in San Diego. He also developed a more effective strategy for using those pitches.

Duquette feels this would be a good deal for the Mets.

“[Pivetta] wouldn’t be a number one type starter, but a number two, solid guy, maybe right behind [Nolan] McLean, and you’d have him under control for three years. That’s the most important thing is, that you have him under control.” Pivetta has three years and $52 million remaining on his contract, that would take him through his age-35 season. However, he does have a player option after both the 2026 and 2027 seasons. So that 'control' isn't really etched in stone.

As for the package the Mets would be giving up? Three Top-15 prospects, two in the Top 10, seems quite rich for a guy of Pivetta's caliber—career year or not.

If I'm the Mets, I say NO to this deal. The Padres, who are looking at shedding salary this winter, would likely jump all over it.

The Mets have also been linked to a true ace, in the Milwaukee Brewers' Freddy Peralta. That deal for Peralta would sound a lot more palatable from the New York side.