The world according to Joe Kelly
Everyone was saying all the right things after word trickled in that Nick Pivetta was heading to the bullpen after the Red Sox' 12-3 win over the Mariners Wednesday night.
Alex Cora: “We’re getting healthy. We’ve got a lot of starters. He’s going to be part of the bullpen. We talked to him today. He understands. It’s part of it, right? Just go out there and dominate your role.”
Chaim Bloom: "He likes to compete. He knows he can have success out there,” Bloom added. “Obviously for us, our experience of Nick in the bullpen is electric. It was obviously in different circumstances, to clinch a playoff spot and to go do it in the postseason. But that’s our experience of him out there."
Pivetta: “I’m going to focus on helping the team achieve our goals. I’m going to go out there and do my job and throw up zeroes and help this team win.”
But, at the end of the day, this has to big gulp moment for all involved. Any time Plan A doesn't come to fruition, Plan B rarely goes down smooth.
This is, however, what it is. And what it could be is an actual opportunity to fill in a gap that probably too many have turned a blind-eye toward - the absence of John Schreiber. That's where Pivetta could very well start altering the conversation.
A big reason Pivetta has long been the apple of the Red Sox' brass' eyes is because of his pure stuff. Between vertical movement on his four-seam fastball. A curveball with elite spin. And one of the most prolific extensions (87th percentile) in the righty's delivery.
Save your breath. Don't shoot the messenger. At this point, even the most ardent of analytical optimists can't ignore the results in this results business. For Pivetta, they simply haven't been good enough, particularly with most of the other Red Sox starters trending in an upward direction.
Is this a no-doubt-about-it solution when it comes to filling in potential high leverage bullpen spots? Nope. Pivetta actually has been better worse the first time through the batting order than the second and third. Other than the fourth inning, the first frame has also been the righty's most troublesome.
There are, however, signs that Pivetta's mindset and mentality might lend itself to scratching where the Red Sox are itching, in particular the multi-inning role Josh Winckowski initially carved out during the season's first month before being leaned on later in the game.
The most memorable relief appearance of Pivetta's 24 out of the bullpen was his most recent, four innings against Tampa Bay in Game 3 of the 2021 American League Division Series. In that Red Sox win he pitched four scoreless innings, allowing three hits while striking out seven.
This is the kind of image the Red Sox are banking on.
Maybe Pivetta drifts into the mop-up role, watching the likes of Winckowski and Kutter Crawford take the high-leverage stuff Schreiber is leaving behind while recovering from his lat injury. Or perhaps this becomes the same kind of weapon the Sox found on that Oct. 10 night two seasons ago.
If nothing else, the idea of a different role for Pivetta is a whole lot more intriguing than what had been carted out for the season's first 1 1/2 months. And, at this point, that's something.