Pitchers and catchers report this week, but one of the biggest names on the market might be waiting a while to sign.
Nick Pivetta, who declined a one-year, $21.05 million qualifying offer from the Boston Red Sox, is still a free agent — and could be for quite some time.
Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report published an article about the best landing spots for the top seven remaining free agents. Pivetta came in as the second-best free agent left, but he was the only player with no team listed under him.
“The MLB Draft now isn’t until mid-July, which complicates things,” wrote Kelly. “But the idea of surrendering draft compensation for a pitcher who has a 4.76 ERA career ERA — even if he has always had good stuff — feels like a stretch. The fact that Pivetta didn’t just accept the one-year, $21.05 million offer looks like quite the mistake right now. … But there’s been little buzz about him this offseason, and it makes you wonder whether he might not have a team until after the All-Star break, when signing him no longer would require giving up anything other than dollars.”
The Red Sox certainly handcuffed every team who may have been interested in Pivetta by applying the qualifying offer. However, it’s Pivetta who is being punished for a decision the Red Sox made.
It’s easy to say he should’ve taken the qualifying offer in hindsight, but no 31-year-old pitcher is going to want a one-year deal — even one with a 4.14 ERA in 2024.
Pivetta’s market has been silent all offseason, and it’s clear the Red Sox have built a rotation without him.
Still, other players such Anthony Santander, Corbin Burnes and Juan Soto, were given qualifying offers by their former teams and signed elsewhere. This makes you wonder how much teams really care about giving up draft compensation.
