{"id":4817,"date":"2024-11-05T14:07:54","date_gmt":"2024-11-05T14:07:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=4817"},"modified":"2024-11-05T14:07:54","modified_gmt":"2024-11-05T14:07:54","slug":"sean-mcadam-red-sox-qualifying-offer-to-nick-pivetta-a-strange-start-to-offseason","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=4817","title":{"rendered":"Sean McAdam: Red Sox\u2019 qualifying offer to Nick Pivetta a strange start to offseason"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Several weeks ago, I was speaking with Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow about various scenarios this winter. When the subject came to the qualifying offer, I tried to get a sense of whether the Sox might be considering a QO for free agent outfielder Tyler O\u2019Neill.<\/p>\n

Breslow mostly spoke in generalities and said decisions like that hadn\u2019t yet been finalized.<\/p>\n

Then, he added: \u201cOne thing you have to remember \u2014 if you give a QO, you\u2019d better be prepared for it to be accepted.\u201d<\/p>\n

I thought about that late Monday afternoon when it was reported that the Sox were\u2019t going to give a qualifying offer to O\u2019Neill \u2014 I thought all along that such a strategy had been a distinct longshot \u2014 but were instead giving one to Nick Pivetta, which I had barely considered as a possibility.<\/p>\n

After all, there\u2019s no way Pivetta would come anywhere close to an AAV of $21.05 million on the free agent market. Most salary projections had Pivetta landing a three-year deal with an AAV of somewhere around $15-16 million. Yes, Pivetta has (mostly) been durable, averaging a tick over 155 innings in the last four seasons. And yes, he\u2019s a decent back-end option. But in that four-seasons stretch, Pivetta is 35-41 with a 4.33 ERA and a 102 ERA+. That fairly screams: league-average!<\/p>\n

Should Pivetta accept the qualifying offer, he would be a serviceable piece for their staff next year. He represents depth, versatility and has already shown the ability to compete in Boston. But a rotation that already had Lucas Giolito, Tanner Houck, Brayan Bello and Kutter Crawford didn\u2019t need Nick Pivetta. It needed \u2014 and needs \u2014 <\/i>a front-of-the-rotation type.<\/p>\n