Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports that Phillies officials had discussions about potentially moving Nick Pivetta to the bullpen. If the circumstances were right, manager Gabe Kapler said, “It’s something we’ll consider.”
Pivetta, 26, was recently sent down to Triple-A Lehigh Valley after posting an ugly 8.35 ERA in his first four starts of the season. Going into the season, Pivetta was a popular candidate for a breakout. In his most recent start for the IronPigs, Pivetta struck out 14 batters over six innings. Doing that at the major league level, however, is a much different story.
The Phillies have been bitten by the injury bug, as Vìctor Arano, Tommy Hunter, and David Robertson are all on the injured list. Despite that, the Phillies’ aggregate 4.27 bullpen ERA ranks 13th across baseball.