Phillies: Five players likely to be traded this offseason

Nick Pivetta

The Phillies had a crop of young pitchers who looked like they could stick in the rotation, but unfortunately fell flat when their name was called. Nick Pivetta was one of those guys who could be better suited for a new market.

Pivetta came to Philadelphia in the Jonathan Papelbon trade with little expectations. Having a “pitchers body” and several four-game stretches of greatness kept the dream of Pivetta making it as a starter alive until early in the 2019 season.

Pivetta’s inconsistency followed him as the Phillies bounced him between the rotation, bullpen, and minor leagues. In his first four starts of the season Pivetta had an 8.35 ERA, forcing him down to Lehigh Valley. Upon his return he had three starts with a 1.80 ERA, but he slipped back to a 6.75 ERA in his final six starts.

A move to the bullpen led to some improvement for the Canadian righty, whose ERA dropped to 4.38 as a reliever. He had 11 appearances where he allowed one run or less and walked no more than one batter, but the bad outings (5 runs allowed against Miami in the middle of the playoff hunt) don’t bode well for Pivetta.

It’s not a foregone conclusion that Pivetta will be gone considering the potential a lot of people still see in him. Perhaps new pitching coach Bryan Price can pull something out of Pivetta and the Phillies can give him ONE MORE chance as the fifth starter or as a set-up man.