Inside The Mets

Insider Deems Mets Top Potential Suitors For Ex-Red Sox Starter

MLB insider Jon Morosi discussed why the New York Mets make a lot of sense for this free agent pitcher.

Grant Young

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. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images
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. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images / David Butler II-Imagn Images
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While the New York Mets already have a deep starting rotation filled with MLB-caliber pitchers, there are still several elite pitchers available, either via free agency or through making a trade. And if the Mets have any chance of competing with the rotation the Los Angeles Dodgers have assembled, they might be inclined to make one more move to bolster their staff further.

As Mets On SI's Pat Ragazzo reported on January 28, "The other name to keep an eye on is right-hander Nick Pivetta, who also remains a free agent. The Mets showed interest in Pivetta back in December before they brought back Manaea on a three-year, $75 million deal.

"Pivetta has a qualifying offer attached to him, which has probably hurt his market a bit. But if first baseman Pete Alonso winds up signing with another team, the Mets would receive a compensatory draft pick as a result of his departure," Ragazzo continued.

"Should this occur, the Mets could sign Pivetta and give up a compensatory pick to the Boston Red Sox after receiving one from Alonso's hypothetical new team."

MLB Network insider Jon Morosi also discussed Pivetta (who posted a 4.09 ERA in his last 288.1 innings across 2023 and 2024 and produced an impressive 9.7 bWAR since joining Boston in 2020) seemingly being a good fit for the Mets during a January 29 appearance on MLB Network's Hot Stove with Harold Reynolds & Robert Flores.

"There are those in the industry who believe that the best fit for [Pivetta] right now is going back to Boston, because of course they would not have to give up a pick," Morosi said.

"The other consideration here is let's think about a team like the New York Mets. They're already had to give up their pick because of signing Juan Soto. Well, at that point, then the next marginal penalty for signing a [qualifying offer] player becomes further diminished," he added.

He concluded by saying, "With Pivetta, it is the draft pick that so many teams hold very very dear in the current CBA of Major League Baseball."

If the Mets do acquire Pivetta, it would be yet another indicator that they're eager to win right now as opposed to stockpiling prospects for the future.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Mets and Women’s Basketball for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years. He believes Mark Teixeira should have been a first ballot MLB Hall of Fame inductee.

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