Why Nick Pivetta is a crucial key to Boston Red Sox 2023 success
One extremely big area of concern for the 2023 Boston Red Sox is their starting pitching.
They have two veteran guys to worry about regarding injuries in Chris Sale and James Paxton.
Then there are the concerns for the young guys in Brayan Bello and Garrett Whitlock. Will Garrett Whitlock stay healthy and be the starter that ownership envisions? Can Bello take a jump in his first full MLB season?
Then there is the mystery that is veteran right-handed pitcher Nick Pivetta. Pivetta is entering his third full season with the Red Sox organization, and honestly; this could be the most important season in his Red Sox career.
In order for the Red Sox to have any sort of success this year, they are going to need to rely on Nick Pivetta.
Boston Red Sox getting both extreme sides of Nick Pivetta
The thing about Nick Pivetta is that he is consistently inconsistent. The best way to think about the tall right-handed starting pitcher is to compare him to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
One month, it looks like Nick Pivetta can be an ace and be in the low-2 ERA category. But then when he is terribly off with his pitches and location, his ERA can balloon up into the high-6 ERA. That’s why his ERA ended up being 4.56 in the 2022 season.
That isn’t going to get it done with this year’s Red Sox team. Especially with some of their big hitters gone in J.D. Martinez and Xander Bogaerts!
So obviously, Pivetta has some things to figure out mechanically to keep himself consistent.
Boston Red Sox needing Nick Pivetta and all other starters to step up in 2023
Nick Pivetta is not the only Red Sox starter that needs to step up for the 2023 season.
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The 6-foot-5 right-hander is only a piece of a number of starters that need to do something this year.
We talked about Chris Sale needing to get going, which then gets the Red Sox going. If Pivetta can come out strong in April, then that takes a little bit of pressure off of Sale to immediately perform.
Then if Pivetta performs, that allows the younger guys in Whitlock and Bello to learn a thing or two from an established veteran. How do you go about your business, what do you do when you’re on a roll in your starts, etc.
So the easiest way to look at it is a domino effect. If Pivetta starts out strong, it can help make things easier for the rest of the staff. If he starts out getting shelled start after start, then that puts more of a load on the rest of the starters!
The bottom line with Nick Pivetta and the Red Sox 2023 success
Nick Pivetta is more crucial to the starting rotation than a lot of Red Sox fans might realize.
Next. Alex Verdugo an option at the leadoff spot. dark
In the MLB, if you have zero pitching; you have no chance of making it to the playoffs.
Sure, the Red Sox added to the bullpen. That’s great! But if the Red Sox starters can’t get the bullpen in winning situations, what good is it?
So let’s see what Nick Pivetta can do in his third full season in Boston. Maybe he’ll surprise us, just like the rest of this team could surprise us in 2023!