@BaseballJones
I'm going to pull this conversation from the bullpen thread & put it here because it's more of a philosophical question that would impact the upcoming season more than a bullpen one.
I do not think the ability to make 30 starts in and of itself is valuable to the Red Sox as currently constituted unless he is actually going to pitch WELL in those starts.
Assuming health, the Sox can have a rotation of Sale/Paxton/Bello/Whitlock/Kluber with depth options including Houck/Mata/Murphy/Walter/Winckowski.
If Pivetta isn't going to pitch better than those guys, he's not providing value simply by pitching innings.
Pivetta led the league last year in pitches per inning & pitched about 5.4 innings per start. He's not adding value by simply existing & taking the ball every 5 days unless he pitches better than whoever else would be taking the ball that day.
If they filled Pivetta's 33 starts with 11 starts each from Mata/Murphy/Walter & those starts were cumulatively better than Pivetta's would have been, starting Pivetta 33 times would take value away, not add to it.
I'm fine if someone wants to project Pivetta being a better pitcher than he was last year (although I disagree), but I absolutely don't see it as being enough to simply exist & not having gotten injured, yet, for a team with as many starting pitchers on the 40-man as the Red Sox have.