Nick Pivetta apparently was eager to get going in his second season with the Boston Red Sox.
The pitcher was the first player to report to Red Sox spring training when camp opened Friday, according to Ian Browne of MLB.com. He also threw a bullpen session Saturday.
While he was the first person to set foot in JetBlue Park, Pivetta wasn’t the only player preparing for the 2022 season, even when the exact start date of it was in jeopardy due to the ongoing lockout. Pivetta told Browne that he joined a number of Red Sox players for practices at Florida Gulf Coast University, where Chris Sale pitched collegiately.
A number of up-and-coming Red Sox pitchers, like Jay Groome, Kutter Crawford and Josh Winckowski, were on hand for those makeshift camps, as were Sale, Matt Barnes, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Christian Vázquez.
“It was a group effort, but I just made sure everybody was on the same page,” Pivetta told Browne. “I was concerned about guys, making sure they could get their work in and that pitchers could (throw to) catchers and I wanted to make sure hitters could see fastballs and get their swings ready, and I think that was a priority.”
Players must report to camp by Sunday, and the Red Sox will play their first spring training game Thursday against the Minnesota Twins.
