San Francisco Giants Linked to Red Sox Ace Hoping to Take Career to Next Level

The San Francisco Giants could be the perfect spot for a Boston Red Sox free agent pitcher on verge of stardom.

Sep 11, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Nick Pivetta (37) on the mound against the Baltimore Orioles in the first inning at Fenway Park. / David Butler II-Imagn Images

The San Francisco Giants will need to add pitching in free agency and could find value in bringing in a veteran that is solid, but shown flashes of greatness.

Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report recently predicted a group of players that have formerly been good, but could become superstars once they depart their current teams in free agency. Boston Red Sox pitcher Nick Pivetta was one of those players, and the Giants were on the teams mentioned that could help him do it.

"Whatever Pivetta's issue is, it's not his stuff," said Rymer. "Going to Stuff+, he had the best stuff of any pitcher who logged at least 100 innings in 2024. His four-seamer, curveball and sweeper especially play well, and even his little-used cutter rates as above average. Though home runs are likely to always be a problem for Pivetta to some degree, he could really take off if he were to sign with a team that has a more forgiving home park."

The reason that San Francisco makes a perfect home for the 31-year-old is that Oracle Park is one of the most power-stifling ballparks in the league, think the opposite of the Coors Field effect.

Pivetta has remained fairly consistent throughout the latest start of his career, the problem is that means he's hovered around a 4.33 ERA for the past four years.

He was originally drafted by the Washington Nationals in the fourth round of the 2013 MLB draft. He was a promising prospect, but not the flashiest. He didn't strike a ton of batters out, but also rarely walked them.

Eventually, he was sent over to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for Jonathan Papelbon (throwback), which is where he made his big league debut.

His first couple of seasons there did not match the hype, which led to him getting traded again, this time to the Red Sox.

The 6-foot-5 has been there ever since and been solid. He's upped his strikeout numbers while keeping his walk numbers low.

What's kept him from being great is the home run issue that was mentioned earlier. When his stuff does get hit, it gets hard. Boston is a place that you can really get punished by power hitters.

Pivetta's xERA has been significantly lower than his actual ERA for most of his career, pointing to the fact that he can pitch better than the numbers may suggest.

Giants pitchers allowed the third-fewest home runs in baseball last season. This could be a perfect free agent pairing.