He was traded along with Bernie Williams from the Giants to the San Diego Padres for Mike Caldwell on October 25, 1973. Troubled with arthritic knees for two seasons, the 35‐year‐old McCovey was critical of manager Charlie Fox for diminishing his starting first baseman role in favor of Gary Thomasson. The Giants had been trading their higher-priced players and gave McCovey input into his destination. McCovey played in 128 games in 1974 and 122 games in 1975. He hit 22 home runs in 1974 and 23 in 1975.