TBNL: Nick Pivetta's quiet market; top winter league performances

When the offseason began in November, 13 players received a qualifying offer (QO). Only one, Cincinnati’s Nick Martinez, accepted.

Martinez agreed to a one-year, $21.05M contract for the 2025 season (the figure is determined by the average of the top 125 highest-paid players from the prior season).

The other dozen reached free agency but did so knowing that they would be tied to compensation. The signing team will give up a combination of draft picks and a portion of their international signing bonus pool.

The players’s old teams each receive an extra draft pick as compensation.

While nine of the 12 have since signed new deals, three still remain on the free agent market. Two find themselves in similar situations — having entered the offseason as one of the top bats available and carrying expectations of a lucrative contract, only now to be facing a limited market and the real possibility of re-signing with their old teams on shorter deals.

It may be surprising to see Pete Alonso and Alex Bregman still unsigned, but it wasn’t a shock to see either receive the QO.

The third unsigned player tied to QO compensation is Nick Pivetta.

That the right-hander received a QO to begin with was a surprise. Boston entered the offseason with multiple starters already under contract and a clear desire from Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow to upgrade the starting rotation. Pivetta made 26 starts for the Red Sox last season, pitching to a 4.14 ERA and 1.126 WHIP over 145.1 IP. His 28.9% strikeout rate ranked in the 88th percentile and he doesn’t walk many batters, but there is little about Pivetta’s track record to suggest he’s among the game’s best pitchers.

Pivetta declined the QO and Boston pivoted quickly to other options, trading for Garrett Crochet and signing Walker Buehler.

Meanwhile, there’s been very little rumored publicly about Pivetta’s potential suitors.

Some of that quiet was to be expected while the bigger-named options (Blake Snell, Max Fried, Corbin Burnes, even Roki Sasaki) remained available but even since the top arms came off the board it still doesn’t appear as though a robust market has emerged for him. Even Jack Flaherty, who is two years younger and arguably the better pitcher, remains without a new deal for the coming season (Flaherty also doesn’t have the QO tied to him and is still having trouble finding a serious suitor).

The closer we get to spring training, the more it would appear that Pivetta should have accepted the QO from Boston in November.

Celebrating Rickey

Thousands of fans came out Saturday for a public celebration of Rickey Henderson’s life, according to MLB.com’s Martín Gallegos. The event was held at the Oakland Arena, which neighbors the Coliseum.

Hall of Famers Ken Griffey Jr. and Dave Winfield, as well as Sandy Alderson and Dave Stewart, spoke about Henderson — with much of the focus placed on stories about his character rather than all he accomplished on the field. Numerous other players with Bay Area connections including Barry Bonds, Dusty Baker, Dennis Eckersley, and Jose Canseco were in attendance.

Henderson passed away in December at age 65.

Top winter league performers

The team over at WorldBaseball.com put together a list of the top performers across all winter leagues, with some interesting names at the top.

First baseman Joey Meneses made quick work of most pitching the Mexican Winter League. Over 262 plate appearances across 62 games with the Tomateros de Culiacan, Meneses slashed .320/.386/.511 with 14 doubles, 10 homers, and 58 RBI while walking more (25) than he struck out (21).

Meneses split the 2024 season with Washington between the majors (where he hit .231/.291/.303 in 313 PA) and Triple-A. He’ll be in camp with the Mets in a few weeks after signing a minor league deal during the offseason.

Right-hander Robert Stock has had a few moments of promise throughout his lengthy minor league career. The 35-year-old had a superb season in Mexico pitching for the Naranjeros de Hermosillo, going 10-2 with a 1.60 ERA over 84.1 IP with a league-leading 78 strikeouts.

Stock has made 55 scattered appearances in the majors between 2018-21, posting a 4.71 ERA across 72.2 IP. He signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox and will likely serve as starting depth at Triple-A this year.

Australian left-hander Alex Wells took the top spot following an impressive season in the ABL. Wells made 10 starts for the Sydney Blue Sox, going 6-1 with a 1.55 ERA and 1.155 WHIP over 58.0 IP.

The soon-to-be 28-year-old did not pitch professionally in either of the last two seasons but has some brief MLB experience with the Orioles in 2021-22. Over 13 appearances (including 8 starts) he pitched 46.1 innings with a 6.60 ERA and 1.597 WHIP.

Elsewhere, around the league …

• At least one major newspaper will be ignoring the “brand transition guidelines” issued by the A’s, namely their request to refer to the team simply as “the Athletics” for the next few seasons. The San Francisco Chronicle (and other properties owned by Hearst Communications) will refer to the team as the Sacramento Athletics. As the Chronicle’s John Shea wrote, the paper’s decision is meant to honor and connect to those fans in the Sacramento area, despite A’s owner John Fisher’s insistence that the club’s time there will be temporary.

• Between the players on the 40-man roster and several notable prospects, it wouldn’t seem like the Cubs would need much in terms of infield depth, which has made the club’s recent connection to free agent Alex Bregman even more puzzling. Chicago did add a veteran option to the mix on Sunday, agreeing to a minor league contract with Nicky Lopez. The 30-year-old spent the 2024 season with the White Sox, hitting .241/.312/.294 in 398 PA.