Nick Pivetta has had a tough start to spring training and now it appears an illness will keep the Boston Red Sox out of the World Baseball Classic.
Pivetta will not pitch for Team Canada in the tournament, manager Alex Cora confirmed Wednesday in Fort Myers, Fla., per video provided by the Red Sox, adding he's not recovering as quickly as the Red Sox had hoped.
"His recovery has been slow," Cora told reporters. "He has been able to do stuff but not at the pace he was before."
He will, however, be ready for Opening Day and is not expected to miss the start of the 2023 season.
The right-hander left JetBlue Park early last week after throwing just one pitch. Pivetta walked off with a trainer before Cora revealed Pivetta recently had COVID-19 and he was building his stamina back.
"It's really difficult decision," Pivetta told reporters, per MassLive. "I got the opportunity to play for Team Canada from a very young age. And then I got to play for them in the WBC. That was really important for me. Unfortunately, I haven't been recovering the way I like to. The team and I came to an (agreement) and an understanding that I have to focus here and what I need to do here for this team right now.
"It's unfortunate. I take great pride in playing for that team and playing for that country."
Pivetta's focus now will be getting his strength back to 100% and he'll not have a full spring training to do that as he works toward earning a spot in the starting rotation.
