Pivetta ripe to deliver; Santana hospitalized

One of the underplayed stories of Spring Training so far for the Red Sox is that Nick Pivetta looks primed to become the starter the Phillies once expected he would be.

Philadelphia decided to stop waiting for Pivetta's potential to turn into results and traded him to Boston last August for Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree, two pitchers who are no longer with the Phillies.

In other words, if Pivetta can perform even reasonably well for the Red Sox, this trade could wind up being a steal for Boston. And that's without even mentioning that chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom also snagged a Minor League starter in that trade in righty Connor Seabold, the team's No. 15 prospect.

In the Red Sox's 3-2 loss to the Rays on Monday, Pivetta stretched out to four innings while allowing four hits and one run while walking one and striking out four. He has been solid in all three of his starts, notching a 3.00 ERA.

"Good stuff, good fastball, he looked great on the mound," said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. "Those are four solid innings against a good lineup. He's in a good spot right now. He's throwing the ball well, and he has command of his pitches. And he's healthy, which is the most important thing."

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Pivetta also has a clear mind again after running into a rut in Philadelphia.

"I'm going out having a lot of fun playing baseball again. Everybody's really enjoying it and I love sitting in front of you guys having good conversations," said Pivetta. "You know, I think for me it's just going out, doing my thing, putting up zeros and wherever the chips fall, the chips fall. But that's not my concern right now. It's just getting better every single day.

"It's been really, really positive the whole way through. They've kind of just let me do my thing in the gym, and with my routine. You know, I've worked really hard to get to this point and to be able to establish myself as the guy I am. And I think that's really important, just knowing who you are, and they're really happy with it. I love the guys. I fit in here really good."

Pivetta has felt a belief from Red Sox's decision-makers ever since the trade and that has given him renewed confidence.

"They valued me as a starting pitcher, and that was really big for me," Pivetta said. "I think I still have a lot more in the tank to prove and a lot more things to show, but it's just gonna all come down to the consistency at the end of the day of me establishing myself properly as a starter in the big leagues."

Santana has infection
Just as non-roster invitee Danny Santana was getting comfortable with his new team, he had a setback.

Cora revealed Monday that the versatile infielder/outfielder has a right foot infection that required him to be hospitalized.

"Danny, he had a foot infection. He's actually right now in the hospital," Cora said. "It got bad two days ago, and hopefully they're gonna do something today with him, drain him or something like that. I got to check with [trainer] Brad [Pearson], but it's gonna take a while now for him to get going. He's been in the hospital for the last few days with IV and antibiotics.

"Let's hope that this is controllable and he's going to be back with us hopefully sooner rather than later."

Given that he was coming off extensive surgery on his right elbow, it was doubtful Santana would have been ready for Opening Day. Now, he definitely isn't a candidate to break camp with the club.

Chavis mashes another one
Michael Chavis, once Boston's No. 1 prospect, is looking like a hitter who has zero interest in opening the season in the Minor Leagues.

The right-handed hitter belted a homer to dead center field on Monday, his fourth of Spring Training.

"He's a good hitter and his problems were chasing pitches outside the strike zone," said Cora. "He's done a good job not expanding up, and then not expanding down and away. Everybody makes a big deal out of the fastball, but I think the league that year in 2019, they started attacking up and then they started expanding down and away, and he's putting himself in a good spot offensively. He's getting there early recognizing pitches and we're happy with the progress."

The original thinking was that Chavis was battling with Christian Arroyo for the final spot on the bench. Chavis has Minor League options and Arroyo doesn't. But the added wrinkle is that Franchy Cordero might not be ready for the start of the season after COVID-19 delayed his start to camp. That could open a path for Chavis and Arroyo to break camp with the club.

Martinez getting glove work
Primary designated hitter J.D. Martinez continues to see his share of time in the outfield this spring, and he started in left on Monday. Martinez has played 20 innings in the outfield already in Spring Training.

If Cordero misses time, Martinez adds value with his ability to play the outfield.

"He likes playing the outfield. It's a win-win situation for us," Cora said. "I was joking with him [that] he got his cardio work in yesterday in left field. He was running all over the place. It's good for him to play out there. He's another option. As you guys know, I'm not afraid to put him in the outfield in certain situations. He makes good decisions. He takes good routes. He's just a big body over there.

"It's good for him to move around, and also you keep him away for the cage, which is important, too. When he DHs, he's looking for ways to stay loose, and he goes to the cage and his workload gets up there. I think it's win-win situation for both of us. The more I can play him in the outfield here, the better it's going to be for us."

Martinez will still spend most of his time as the DH when the season starts, and Cora says that Marwin Gonzalez will likely be the primary left fielder if Cordero isn't ready.

Jeter not down for long
It wasn't a good sight for the Red Sox on Sunday when No. 2 prospect Jeter Downs had to leave in the middle of the seventh inning with a left side injury sustained on a diving play at shortstop.

However, it looks as if Downs has avoided significant injury.

"He feels like he should be OK in the upcoming days, nothing serious, but we'll let the medical department decide that," said Cora. "Hopefully everything is good. ... We'll stay away from him tomorrow. Hopefully he can be back on Wednesday. ... But it feels like it's nothing serious."

Up next
Righty Tanner Houck, Boston's No. 7 prospect, gets the start for Tuesday's home game against the Braves. After a shaky first outing, Houck was in top form in his last outing as he hit the high 90s on the radar gun. First pitch at JetBlue Park is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. ET.