Nick Pivetta (elbow) to make another rehab start

Pivetta struck out four and walked one but also allowed two home runs while throwing 35 of his 47 pitches for strikes. We don’t have much data from High-A parks, but it’s nice to see that Pivetta threw as many strikes as he did and that he ended the outing healthy after having to walk off the mound the last time he was making a rehab start. He should move to Double-A or Triple-A for his next outing, which could come over the weekend.

The Padres are obviously proceeding with an abundance of caution and will wait to see how Pivetta responds before determining his next steps. The 33-year-old set off alarm bells when he abruptly exited a minor league rehab start, but appears to have avoided serious injury. There’s a chance he’s back in San Diego at some point in the final few weeks of the year. He’s been out since mid-April due to a flexor strain in his elbow.

There was some fear that Pivetta had aggravated his elbow injury when he had ot leave his rehab start early on Tuesday. However, he was able to throw in the bullpen after leaving the game, and Stammen says that it’s “all systems forward” right now. We’ll admit to still being a little worried, but it seems like we’ll get another rehab start from Pivetta next week to track his progress.

Stammen added that Pivetta was able to throw 30 pitches in the bullpen after experiencing some discomfort throughout his warmup process. It’s an encouraging update after Pivetta abruptly exited his first rehab outing. The 33-year-old is working his way back from a flexor strain that put him on the shelf back in mid-April. He’ll be reevaluated later this week to determine that he’s fine from a physical standpoint to continue his rehab assignment. It doesn’t sound like a worst-case scenario. Still, it’s going to be challenging for Pivetta to make it back to San Diego before the regular season concludes.

Pivetta threw a pitch and then immediately walked off the mound and headed to the dugout, which is just very much not good. He was making his first rehab start since suffering a flexor strain in April.

They will be opposed by Tyler Glasnow (back), who is on a rehab assignment with Single-A Ontario, so that’s quite a low-minors pitching duel. Both Musgrove and Pivetta are working back from long layoffs due to elbow injuries, but both have been building up to around two or three innings. We could see both of them in the Padres’ rotation by September if all goes according to plan.

The next steps for both veteran right-handers are still to be determined, but they’re inching closer to beginning minor league rehab assignments. Both should be expected to rejoin the Padres’ rotation at some point during the month of August.

“People who have seen Musgrove and Pivetta throw or gotten reports about those throwing sessions have expressed greater optimism about their progress over the past week or so,” Acee continues. Pivetta was scheduled to throw a live batting practice this week. Both would need to be setback-free to continue to a rehab assignment, obviously, but it sounds like the Padres could get rotation reinforcements in late August or September.

Pivetta is slated to face hitters for the first time since landing on the injured list with a flexor strain back in mid-April. He made it through an up-and-down bullpen session last Friday without any issues. The expectation from the start was that Pivetta would pitch again this season and he appears to be on track to make that a reality. There should be a definitive return timetable once he’s ready to make his first minor league rehab start at some point in August.

It’s the first substantive update regarding Pivetta’s progress since he landed on the shelf with a right elbow flexor strain back in mid-April. The 33-year-old strikeout artist will continue ramping up his throwing progression in the coming weeks and should be ready for a couple minor league rehab starts in August. It sounds like there’s a decent chance he makes it back to San Diego at some point in the second half.