The Padres are not exactly easing into spring. The San Diego front office has reportedly opened trade talks with the Minnesota Twins, floating a package built around veteran right-hander Nick Pivetta for All-Star starter Joe Ryan. If it ever gets across the finish line, it would be one of the splashiest rotation shakeups of the spring and a loud signal of how badly the Friars want more starting pitching.
Deal details, per the report
According to National Today, the current framework would send Ryan to San Diego in exchange for Pivetta, pitching prospect Eric Yost and what the outlet describes as the Padres’ No. 23 prospect from their 2025 list. Yost has been working in the upper minors for San Diego and has repeatedly popped up in local prospect coverage, which has framed him as one of the more intriguing upside arms in the system. National Today characterizes the talks as part of an effort by the Padres to accelerate their rotation upgrades before Opening Day.
Why the Padres might push
San Diego’s hunt for dependable innings has been a running theme all offseason, and the club has not been shy about considering trades that sacrifice some present depth to buy a higher ceiling now. Pivetta signed with the Padres last February on a heavily backloaded four-year deal, then turned in one of the team’s best 2025 seasons on the mound, which only adds to his appeal as a trade chip for a club juggling both performance and payroll. MLB Trade Rumors previously broke down the structure of Pivetta’s contract and the opt-out clauses that currently give him unusual trade value.
About Joe Ryan
Ryan stepped into 2025 as a full-fledged rotation force, earning an All-Star nod while posting a sub-3.50 ERA with a strong strikeout rate and quickly becoming one of Minnesota’s most coveted arms. Earlier this spring he was scratched from a start and sent for an MRI, which revealed inflammation in his lower back but no more serious structural damage. The Twins labeled the findings encouraging, and Ryan later reached a $6.2 million agreement to avoid arbitration this winter. ESPN reported both the medical update and the contract figure.
What the Twins are weighing
Minnesota’s situation shifted sharply when ace Pablo López was diagnosed with a significant tear in his right elbow’s ulnar collateral ligament, an injury that is expected to sideline him for the entire 2026 season. The club announced the severity of the damage and the likelihood of surgery in mid-February, a development that only increases the value of every controllable starter on the Twins’ roster. Team leadership now has to decide how much immediate rotation stability they can afford to give up in exchange for longer-term flexibility and prospect capital. MLB.com detailed López’s diagnosis and what it means for Minnesota’s pitching staff.
How realistic is the swap?
On paper, the concept lines up with the kind of mock trades and offseason chatter that have tied Ryan to several contenders. Some of those scenarios used Pivetta as both a financial and rotation match in proposals that sent Ryan, and in certain versions Byron Buxton as well, to San Diego. Those exercises suggest that a Pivetta-for-Ryan framework works in rough talent terms, even if it remains a complicated lift in real life, given how important Pivetta is to the Padres and how much guaranteed money is still attached to his deal. See a previous mock and analysis for similar permutations. Sports Illustrated has explored how front offices might view Pivetta as both a rotation fixture and a movable asset.
For the moment, the reported talks sit in the early, unconfirmed rumor bin as the spring market hums along. What happens next will come down to how San Diego and Minnesota choose to balance present rotation help against years of club control and prospect depth. National Today notes that discussions are still viewed as exploratory, so fans should brace for plenty more noise before any move, if it happens at all, shows up on the transaction wire.
