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Projecting the Boston Red Sox 2023/2024 rotation

By Rick McNair

BOSTON, MA - SEPTEMBER 22: A general view of the stadium as the sun sets before a game between the Boston Red Sox and the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park on September 22, 2020 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - SEPTEMBER 22: A general view of the stadium as the sun sets before a game between the Boston Red Sox and the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park on September 22, 2020 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images) /
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BOSTON, MA – JULY 30: Nick Pivetta #37 of the Boston Red Sox pitches against the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning at Fenway Park on July 30, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo By Winslow Townson/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA – JULY 30: Nick Pivetta #37 of the Boston Red Sox pitches against the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning at Fenway Park on July 30, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo By Winslow Townson/Getty Images) /

The mixed bag of Nick Pivetta

What a steal Nick Pivetta has been for the Red Sox. Pivetta has been occasionally rocked this season, but the overall performance has been one of stability for a desperately needed rotation. Pivetta will give mixed results, and the idea is for the positive to outweigh the negative.

Pivetta has a nice three-pitch assortment, is not petrified to toss a strike, and is a fast worker. Pivetta’s fastball is classified as “heavy,” a somewhat oblique term in baseball to describe a heater that pitches significantly greater than its speed may indicate.

Pivetta is under team control through 2025 and stands to make a bundle of money in arbitration if he continues on a promising path. Much less if he has games like that against the Yankees on 7/16. So dipping again into the past, just what Red Sox righty does Pivetta reminds me of?

John Lackey had a similar three-pitch fastball, curve, and slider assortment. The same described “heavy” fastball and a physical resemblance to Pivetta. Lackey had the same gritty style and pitched almost an entire season with a blown-out arm. Lackey would also pitch dynamic games and games in which Stevie Wonder could get two hits.

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