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Phillies news and rumors 5/6: Nick Pivetta reflects on ‘mixed bag’ tenure

Nick Pivetta spent parts of four seasons with the Phillies. (Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire)

It wasn’t that long ago that many Philadelphia Phillies fans were convinced that Nick Pivetta would be one of the team’s top starters the next time the franchise returned to the World Series.

That, of course, didn’t happen, as Pivetta wasn’t able to turn tremendous stuff into being a consistently effective starter for the Phillies. In parts of four seasons, Pivetta posted a 5.50 ERA and 4.64 FIP over 92 appearances, 71 of which were starts.

Pivetta and Connor Seabold were traded to the Boston Red Sox in an August 2020 deal that brought Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree to Philadelphia. In making the trade, general manager Matt Klentak was attempting to fix what had been a historically-bad bullpen, and in turn, save his job. The soon-to-be former general manager was also signaling that the Phillies believed they had exhausted all avenues in trying to get Pivetta to reach his potential.

Almost three years later, Pivetta — visiting with the Red Sox this weekend at Citizens Bank Park — reflected on his time with the Phillies.

“I mean, I think it’s a mixed bag,” Pivetta acknowledged. “But I was given a great opportunity by the Phillies to give a jumpstart to my career. A lot of –like I said — great opportunities, and I learned a lot from the organization to kind of get me to the point where I am today.”

In the matter of just over a year, Pivetta went from being a pitcher that seemed like he had a chance to develop into the No. 2 in the Phillies rotation behind Aaron Nola to being traded in a rental deal during a 60-game season.

Now back in Philadelphia as a visitor for the second year in a row — just like last year, his turn in the rotation won’t come up while the Red Sox are visiting — has enough time gone by for Pivetta to feel at peace with his trials and tribulations as a Phillie?

“I don’t think it’s really any peace or anything of that,” Pivetta said. “It’s just, it’s a part of my time in the big leagues. I’m grateful for every opportunity I’ve been given, whether it’s with the Nationals or the Phillies or the Red Sox. It’s an opportunity and you get to meet a lot of great people along the way. You get to learn a lot of lessons … you get to figure out who you are as a big leaguer, so that you can develop yourself and make it to where you need to be.”

In 2021, his first full season in Boston, Pivetta got a chance to pitch in the postseason for the first time in his career. In three games, he went 1-0 with a 2.63 ERA. The Red Sox eliminated two division rivals — the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays — before being knocked out by the Houston Astros in the ALCS.

A year later, Pivetta says he enjoyed watching some of his former teammates and coaches get a chance to shine during a run to the World Series.

“It was incredible,” Pivetta said. “Watching these guys do what they did … having [Rob] Thoms[on] there to lead the guys and then [Bryce] Harper do what he did … the consistency of the pitching staff … seeing [Kyle] Schwarber come over from us to there, I think it was really important. It was great to see what they could do.”

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Tonight’s Matchup

The Phillies and Red Sox will continue their three-game weekend series Saturday evening at Citizens Bank Park.

Because it’s a national telecast on FOX, the game won’t begin until 7:15 p.m. ET. The FOX broadcast crew will be Adam Amin, John Smoltz and Ken Rosenthal.

Bailey Falter (0-5, 5.01 ERA, 5.07 FIP) will start for the Phillies, with two-time American League Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber (1-4, 6.44 ERA, 6.50 FIP) slated to toe the rubber for the Red Sox.

Must-Read (Or Watch) Phillies Content

Bryce Harper wore his high school varsity jacket to the stadium Friday:

Speaking of Harper, he had quite the story to tell Friday:

Jon Heyman of The New York Post reported Friday that the Phillies offered Aaron Nola “north of $100 million” before the season, but an extension “never got close.” For what it’s worth, Heyman hears that both sides still want to reach a long-term deal after the season.
Matt Strahm could be available out of the bullpen as soon as Saturday’s game.