The first time he was traded, lofty expectations were set for Nick Pivetta.
A 2013 fourth-round pick of the Washington Nationals, Pivetta was acquired by Philadelphia at the 2015 trade deadline as the price for sending closer Jonathan Papelbon to D.C.
But Pivetta never quite panned out in Philadelphia, posting a 5.50 ERA in 71 starts over 92 games in four seasons. He was moved to the bullpen in the second half last season and after some work this offseason tried to get back on track as a starter. But he couldn’t win back his rotation spot in summer camp once the season got underway and was once again stashed in the Phillies bullpen.
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So when the Red Sox traded for Pivetta and Phillies pitching prospect Connor Seabold two weeks ago, it came at the right time for the British Columbia native. Pivetta is viewing this latest trade as a second chance, of sorts.
“It definitely hasn’t gone the way I’ve wanted it to,” Pivetta said of the start of his career. “But I’ve been given an opportunity here for a fresh new beginning. So it’s just taking what I’ve learned from my past experiences, moving forward, and developing into the pitcher that I know that I can be and that the Boston Red Sox believe that I can be. There’s a lot of moves that happened, especially last year in 2019, that were out of my control.”
Rather than throw Pivetta into the Red Sox rotation where the expectations — fairly or unfairly — would be for him to excel from the get-go, the Red Sox opted to ease him into their organization by starting him out in Pawtucket with their pool of reserve players. He’d already struggled so much in Philly, that setting him up for any sort of failure with his new club seemed ill-advised.
So the 27-year-old, who last pitched for the Phillies on Aug. 10, made his first appearance in a Red Sox uniform in Pawtucket on Monday, tossing three innings.
Pivetta throws a hard mid-90s fastball, a curveball, slider and is developing a changeup. It’s a healthy four-pitch mix, when it’s all working effectively. The curveball has gotten away from him of late and he’s trying to refine his changeup, but Red Sox pitching coach Dave Bush sees a lot of potential.
“We talked quite a bit about his pitch mix and his style and the different things he wants to do on the mound and some changes he’s made in the past year or so,” Bush said.
“We’ve put together a plan for him,” he added. “We’ve outlined the things we think he can do. I think he knows where his future is. We want him to be a starter and we’re going to stretch him out. He’s comfortable with the role, with where he is and what he needs to do in the next couple weeks or so. The goal is still to get him up here (to Boston) at some point.”
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This past winter, Pivetta switched up his offseason workout program and moved to Los Angeles to work alongside friend and White Sox ace Lucas Giolito, as well the Mets’ Noah Syndergaard and several other pitchers, at Kobe Bryant’s Mamba Sports Academy. Pivetta refined a number of things from his workout program to his mechanics.
“I think from a strength and conditioning standpoint that’s the best I’ve ever felt,” Pivetta said. “Health-wise I was dealing with a little shoulder discomfort late in the year last year and I think I missed about two and a half weeks and I went into the offseason and really worked hard and got myself around a really good group of guys. I didn’t make some major changes with my arm, it was just trying to get it to more of an efficient arm path. I think getting back to my mechanics in 2018 and going into 2019 and that spring training, that’s just what I’m looking to get back to that command of the strike zone, those really good off-speed pitches that allow me to put guys away quickly.”
While he felt good in spring training, he couldn’t quite pull it all together after the shutdown. Now he’s hoping he can get back to that place he was in this past winter and put his struggles behind him.
“A change of scenery is going to be good for him,” Bush said. “It happens to a lot of guys where they get in a situation where they haven’t performed or they’re not in the role they like and for whatever reason it just doesn’t work out and sometimes a change of scenery can be the little push they need to really un-tap their potential and reach what they can do.”
This is the fresh start Pivetta has craved. Now he knows it’s his time to perform.
“To be with an organization that values me as a starter, I’m just super-grateful for that opportunity,” Pivetta said. “I’m going to make the most of it.”
