Red Sox's Nick Pivetta Has Fiery Response To Potential Transition To Bullpen
Boston Red Sox pitcher Nick Pivetta clearly takes pride in being a starting pitcher and takes offense to any indication that he could possibly be moved to the bullpen.
The 30-year-old has confronted reporters who have proposed the idea of Pivetta moving to the bullpen in the past and continues to be outraged by those who think his days in the rotation are numbered.
Pivetta's response when asked if he considered his latest start as an audition for the rotation was very on-brand.
"I don’t really understand what you’re saying but I’m just going to continue to go out and do my job,” Pivetta told MassLive's Chris Cotillo after Tuesday's loss. “I’ve started for this team my whole entire career. I’m going to continue to do that. By the end of the year, I’m going to continue to do that, then next year and the year on out.”
Pivetta was either told by Red Sox manager Alex Cora that he will not be moved out of the rotation under any circumstances or he is in denial. At this juncture, the latter sounds much more likely.
Red Sox left-hander James Paxton is set to make his debut with Boston on Friday and Garrett Whitlock is not far behind. If everyone stays healthy, that leaves the rotation seven deep -- Corey Kluber, Chris Sale, Tanner Houck, Brayan Bello, Whitlock, Paxton and Pivetta.
When the time comes, it's likely that Bello is sent down to the minors, as the team already did so once this season when a roster crunch was needed.
Pivetta will then need to compete with Houck for the final spot in the rotation, as none of the other starters would be moved to the bullpen.
Pivetta is 2-3 with a 6.23 ERA, 36-to-15 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .261 batting average against and a 1.47 WHIP in 34 2/3 innings. He's also allowed eight home runs in seven starts with some of the worst advanced metrics in Major League Baseball.
The right-hander has a 52.4% hard-hit rate (fourth percentile) and an average exit velocity of 93.2 mph (second percentile). In other words, Pivetta is getting hit as hard as anyone in the league.
Pivetta could escape a move to the bullpen if Cora elects to turn Houck into a multi-inning reliever -- a role he's proven to be effective in -- but it's asinine for Pivetta to act as if he has a guaranteed spot in the rotation given his production this season, especially just hours after allowing seven earned runs in four innings.
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