Red Sox bold decision might've ruined golden chance at Tigers rotation upgrade

As the 2024-25 offseason officially gets going, few teams could use a starting rotation facelift quite like the Detroit Tigers. Tarik Skubal, Reese Olson and Casey Mize are a rock-solid top three in the quintet, but beyond them, there's more than a little uncertainty.

As of right now, Keider Montero seems to have the inside track at the No. 4 starter job next year. The 24-year-old made 16 starts for the Tigers in 2024 (as well as three relief appearances) and posted a 4.76 ERA, 5.15 FIP and 86 ERA+ through 98.1 innings of work. Outside of a somewhat surprising complete game shutout against the Rockies, Montero didn't do much to stand out above the competition aside from throw nearly 100 innings.

Super-prospect Jackson Jobe and the unreliable Kenta Maeda represent the best of the rest in filling out the rotation. Ty Madden, Matt Manning and Alex Faedo are other 40-man options but it remains to be seen how they're going to contribute to next year's roster, at least to start things off.

One player that could be of interest to the Tigers is Nick Pivetta, but for now, his status for next season remains unclear. The Boston Red Sox made the surprising decision to make him one of the 13 players to receive a qualifying offer on Monday. He now has until 4 p.m. ET on Nov. 19 to decide whether he's going to accept it and return to the Red Sox on a one-year, $21.05 million contract, or decline it and hit the free-agent market.

If Pivetta chooses to decline the offer, he's got "Tigers" written all over him. Until the 19th though, all Detroit can do is wait.

Red Sox extending Nick Pivetta a QO may throw a wrench in Tigers' plans

Pivetta, 31, made 26 starts (and one relief appearance) for the Red Sox in 2024, going 6-12 with a 4.14 ERA, 4.07 FIP and 107 ERA+ along the way. He remained a consistent and versatile arm, just as he has all throughout his eight-year career in the big leagues. The right-hander can fill a variety of different roles around a pitching staff, but he's most appealing to the Tigers as a starter, which is what he's been throughout the majority of his career.

Since joining the Red Sox in 2020, Pivetta has seen his strikeout numbers raise a ton. Now, he's an annual threat to punch out over 10 batters per nine innings while simultaneously lowering the amount of hits and walks he's allowing. His ERA north of 4.00 may cause some to be confused as to why the pitching-hungry Red Sox extended a QO his way, but a team like the Tigers could use pretty much his exact output from 2024 on their 2025 staff.

Now all that's left for the Tigers to do is wait in the background until Pivetta makes a decision. If Pivetta turns down the Red Sox, he'll be a free agent, but not without a catch. If the Tigers signed him, they'd lose a pick in next year's MLB Draft, which will go to the Red Sox as compensation for Pivetta departing in free agency.

It remains to be seen whether Detroit will pounce if/when Pivetta hits the market. All that we know right now is that he'd be a perfect fit on a club that could use someone like him in the middle of their rotation next year. The contention window is open right now, and they're going to need all the help they can get to build off of their promising 2024.