Red Sox Predicted To Cut Ties With $7.5 Million Starting Pitcher

Boston will be active this winter but it doesn't seem like it will reunite

Jun 28, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; A bucket of baseballs sits on the grass before a game between the Boston Red Sox and the San Diego Padres at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images / Eric Canha-Imagn Images

There surely are a lot of changes on the way for the Boston Red Sox.

Some of those changes could involve additions to the organization. Others will come in the form of subtractions from the roster. One player who is a free agent for Boston is starting pitcher Nick Pivetta.

He made $7.5 million in 2024, but the Red Sox offered him the one-year, just over $21 million qualifying offer for the 2025 campaign. He declined it seemingly with the hopes of landing a multi-year deal.

There's nothing stopping the Red Sox from signing him to a multi-year deal themselves, but it does seem unlikely. Boston wants to add pitching, but has been linked more to top-tier guys like Max Fried and Corbin Burnes.

Pivetta will be worth watching and nothing can fully be ruled out at this point, but FanSided's Zachary Rotman predicted that Pivetta won't be back.

"It's been mostly a quiet offseason so far for the Red Sox, but one clear win already was Nick Pivetta receiving and rejecting the qualifying offer," Rotman said. "Pivetta had reasons to accept it, but chose instead to test free agency, ensuring that the Red Sox would earn a draft pick if he were to depart. Pivetta has been a durable starter for the Red Sox since he was acquired in the middle of the 2020 season and has flashed elite strikeout stuff, but his inconsistency is something that Red Sox fans won't miss if he does depart...

"Pivetta's ability to take the ball every fifth day and eat innings will be missed, but the fact that he posted ERAs over 4.00 in each of his four full seasons with the Red Sox shows that he's extremely replaceable. Red Sox fans will hope that the team can find more consistency in Pivetta's rotation slot, and will be thrilled with Craig Breslow adding a draft pick assuming the right-hander signs elsewhere."

Pivetta developed into a fan-favorite with Boston and has been with the team since 2020, but it seems like the two sides going in a different direction is the most likely outcome.

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