The Boston Red Sox Wednesday, March 3, 2021 * The Boston Globe How Nick Pivetta is embracing a fresh start with the Red Sox Peter Abraham FORT MYERS, Fla. — Nick and Kristen Pivetta have been nomads for some time, unable to return to their native Canada because of strict pandemic protocols regarding crossing the border from the United States. “We haven’t been home in almost two years,” said Nick, a righthander who was traded to the Red Sox last summer. “So we packed up and came here.” Home is now a rented condo a short drive from JetBlue Park. They arrived in October for what in every way has been a fresh start. Pivetta, 28, spent nearly five years with the Philadelphia Phillies. He made his major league debut with the team in 2017, won his first game a few weeks later, and struck out 13 Cardinals one memorable night in 2018. But he welcomed the trade to Boston. It was time. “I can’t speak on behalf of the Phillies. But I don’t feel they valued me as a starter anymore,” Pivetta said. “I was ready for some new scenery. It was best for both parties.” That was easily confirmed, a Phillies official saying the team felt Pivetta was more confident in his abilities than a career 5.40 earned run average suggested he should be. They recognized his talent but were frustrated by his stubbornness. The Red Sox took a chance on the talent, trading relievers Heath Hembree and Brandon Workman for Pivetta and righthander Connor Seabold. Seabold, a former third-round pick with starter potential, was the key to the deal. But the Sox saw Pivetta as a project worth taking on, given his 95-mile-per-hour fastball and effective curveball. Pivetta appeared in only three games last season before the Phillies demoted him to the workout group at the team’s Triple A ballpark in Allentown, Pa. When the trade was made, the Sox sent a car service that toted Pivetta to their Triple A park in Pawtucket. The Sox gave him two starts in the waning days of a lost season, and Pivetta allowed two runs on eight hits over 10 innings and struck out 13 with five walks. “Those games were really important, getting around a new organization, doing the best I can to finish on a strong note,” Pivetta said. “It was all positive stuff.” Now Pivetta has a chance to open the season in the rotation. He makes his first start of spring training Wednesday against the Twins. Manager Alex Cora, who’s living a second chance of his own, likes what he has seen from Pivetta. “We’ve been talking for a while,” Cora said. “One thing I told him when I got [to spring training], ‘You don’t have to prove people wrong.’ Which is the most important thing. “He doesn’t have to show them or us that he’s good. We know he’s good.” Pivetta may ultimately land in the bullpen, as his pitch mix, temperament, and 6-foot-5-inch, 220-pound frame seem well-tailored for relief work. But there’s nothing to lose trying him as a starter. That Pivetta moved to Fort Myers and spent the winter working out at the team facility and getting to know the staff impressed the Sox. “Any time a team goes out to get you and puts you in the position you want to be put in, for me as a starting pitcher, that’s a positive thing,” Pivetta said. “I just have to work on commanding my pitches and going out there and competing. It’s not like I need to work on anything to make it better than it already is. It’s finding consistency.” Pivetta has embraced opportunity in the past. As a high school senior growing up in British Columbia, he accepted a scholarship to New Mexico Junior College without first visiting the campus. It was his best offer after missing his senior season with an elbow strain. Prior to that, Pivetta had been a member of Canada’s junior national team. “I went on a whim,” he said. “Being a young kid from Canada, I just wanted a place to play. At the time, I was throwing 88 and had a sore arm. They offered me a full scholarship, so my parents didn’t have to pay. Perfect.” Jake McCarter was Pivetta’s pitching coach from the fall of 2012 through the 2013 season. “I was handed a gem,” he said. “First time I saw him play catch, I knew he had upside and would throw hard one day. You could see that from his stature and his arm action. “You don’t go to junior college for a social life. You’re there to develop and play baseball. Once Nick hit 90, it kept building, and the rest is history.” Pivetta had a dominant sophomore season and was a fourth-round pick of the Nationals in 2013. They sent him to the Phillies at the 2015 trade deadline for Jonathan Papelbon. As he settles in with the Red Sox, Pivetta is working on taming his emotions with meditation. Last week, before a session of live batting practice, he was spotted seated on a sunny patch of grass with his eyes closed. “Just getting ready, calming down, and getting in the right mental space,” Pivetta said. “It’s something I picked up from my wife. Control your body, do some mental reps, and visualize what you want to accomplish. She’s really into it and it works.” It’s all part of a fresh start. “I can’t control what happened in the past. But I can control what I do on the mound,” Pivetta said. “My focus is here, winning games and moving forward.” A bit of a milestone for Red Sox Rule 5 pitcher Garrett Whitlock Peter Abraham FORT MYERS, Fla. — Garrett Whitlock pitched a scoreless third inning for the Red Sox in Tuesday’s 9-3 victory against the Tampa Bay Rays. The 24-year-old righthander allowed one hit, struck out two, and threw a mid-90s sinking fastball with life. But it was more meaningful than that. It was the first game for Whitlock since July 3, 2019, when he was a Double A Yankees prospect. He had Tommy John surgery later that month. It also was the first time Whitlock appeared in a major league spring training game. “It was a lot of fun to go out there and compete,” Whitlock said. “Being in that situation was exciting for me.” Under Rule 5, the Sox must keep Whitlock on the major league roster all season to retain him. “It’s a huge opportunity,” he said. “I can’t thank the Red Sox enough for picking me up. I just want to go out there and compete my butt off and just enjoy the process.” For now, Whitlock would best fit the Sox as a reliever. He was primarily a starter with the Yankees. “He was really good; you can see his stuff,” Sox manager Alex Cora said. “We just want him to stay healthy and keep progressing. On the mound he looks like a big-league pitcher.” Boarding process Hirokazu Sawamura had his first day in camp and played catch on the field. Cora said the 32-year-old righthander from Japan would get a chance to acclimate before getting into a game. “We want him to feel comfortable the first few days,” Cora said. “We don’t want him to rush into the baseball part of it. He will get his work in. “But at the same time, there’s a lot of stuff that is behind the scenes that we want him to do and then after that, we’ll make decisions as far as, like, when he’s going to pitch in a real game.” Sawamura is the first Red Sox player from Japan since Koji Uehara in 2016. His presence in camp brought out a small crowd of Japanese journalists. Initial impressions Nearly half the 40-man roster was turned over during Cora’s 10-month absence from the organization, and he’s seeing a lot of players in person for the first time. Righthander Connor Seabold has made a positive impression. Seabold’s four-seam fastball was 95-96 miles per hour during his scoreless inning against the Braves Monday, a jump from last year that increases separation with his changeup. “I didn’t expect that one,” Cora said. “You can see his changeup, it’s a good one.” Pérez sharp The first hitter Martín Pérez faced reached on an infield hit when he forgot to cover first base. A double- play grounder followed, and Pérez was perfect from there for two innings. “There’s a few things that we believe he can do to be better,” Cora said. “Be more aggressive in the strike zone. He can get people out in the strike zone. He doesn’t have to nibble that much. If he does that, he can go deeper into games.” … Red Sox prospect Rio Gomez appeared on ESPN’s telecast to pay tribute to his late father. ESPN reporter Pedro Gomez, who unexpectedly died last month, was a regular visitor to Fenway South to see his son … Alex Verdugo has yet to get into a game and isn’t scheduled to play until Friday. He has been taking swings in the batting cage to build up, something he prefers instead of games at this stage of camp.