What Does Nick Pivetta’s Red Sox Turnaround Mean For 2024?

While the Boston Red Sox had a series of pitching problems in 2023, the resurgence of Nick Pivetta gave the club something to build on.

After shifting to a bulk relief role at the start of the summer, the Red Sox right-hander took off in his production on the mound. As a reliever, Pivetta went 5-3 with a 3.07 ERA in 22 appearances while striking out 12.6 batters per nine innings. Often following an opener, Pivetta gave starter-like innings to boost Boston.

“I think I took some steps forward last year,” Pivetta told reporters on Saturday during Red Sox Winter Weekend at MassMutal Center in Springfield, Mass. “I learned a lot of things. I’m excited just being here with the guys.”

Throughout his career, Pivetta benefited by mixing high levels with his fastball and an arching curveball. Midway through 2023 while experimenting with new pitches, the Red Sox righty picked up a horizontal breaking ball, which he confirmed as a sweeper, that helped unlock his best version to attack hitters. Pivetta got more swings-and-misses and found his strikeout percentage jumped nearly nine points to 31% from 22% in 2022.

“I’ve been working on the sweeper all offseason,” Pivetta shared. “For that pitch, it will progress as games get going. It takes that intensity and adrenaline to get going and make that pitch do a certain thing. It’s using my arsenal as a whole, establishing the strike zone early, and using my pitches separately to righties and lefties.”

Entering 2024, Pivetta gets to work with several new pitching minds with the Red Sox, including chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, pitching coach Andrew Bailey and director of pitching Justin Willard. The 30-year-old knows he can grow even further based on Bailey’s previous success elevating arms with the San Francisco Giants through internal analysis and understanding what allows each pitcher to succeed.

“Going through last year, there’s a lot of facets of the game and to help a team compete and win,” Pivetta said. “That’s my biggest goal, whatever it happens to be. Everybody knows I prefer to start. I prefer to win, at the end of the day.”

Alongside free-agent addition Lucas Giolito, Pivetta will likely return to the rotation in 2024, where he hopes to set the tone by consistently pitching deep into games, just as his former teammates Chris Sale and Philadelphia Phillies starter Aaron Nola did for years.

“It’s time for me to be the player I know I can be and everyone expects me to be,” Pivetta said.

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As a veteran, Pivetta has the chance to lead the way for younger capable Red Sox starters in Kutter Crawford and Brayan Bello, both by example on the mound and by sharing his perspective based on his career.

“I look forward to it a lot,” Pivetta explained. “I was fortunate enough to have a lot of good veterans, both in (Philadelphia) and when I came over here with the Red Sox. I look to provide as much experience in helping these guys be who they want to be.”

No matter his role, Pivetta’s contributions will go a long way in determining how well the Red Sox can perform in 2024.