The San Diego Padres began the 2026 season with a thin rotation. All-Star Joe Musgrove suffered a setback in his recovery from Tommy John surgery this spring. He started the season on the injured list and has yet to make his season debut. While Musgrove's injury wasn't ideal, that opened the door for two veteran pitchers to earn their way onto the Opening Day roster. The rotation ultimately began with Michael King, Nick Pivetta, Randy Vásquez, Walker Buehler and Germán Márquez. The unit lost Pivetta early in the season , and that put president of baseball operations A.J. Preller promptly into action. Not long after Pivetta joined Musgrove on the IL, speculation began to swirl that the Padres would sign the best free agent pitcher available in Lucas Giolito. Lo and behold, the Padres were successful in their efforts and inked the right-hander to a one-year, $3 million deal. There's one Padre in particular who was especially excited to hear the news of the Giolito signing.…