The major difference between the 2024 and 2025 Boston Red Sox is the depth of their starting pitchers.
That is immediately tested during spring training.
With the acquisitions of Garrett Crochet and Walker Buehler, the Red Sox appear to have six excellent starting pitching options entering the season. That’s one more than a conventional rotation requires, but one of the other starters is already suffering with minor injury issues as the spring season begins.
Kutter Crawford, who matched for the Major League Baseball led with 33 starts in 2024, is reportedly struggling with patellar tendon discomfort in his throwing elbow from last season.
On Friday, Red Sox manager Alex Cora stated that Crawford is falling behind his fellow starters in their preparation for Opening Day. The right-hander is throwing bullpen sessions alongside the other starters, but at a lower intensity.
“Kutter is a little bit behind,” Cora said Friday, per MassLive’s Christopher Smith. “It’s been going on through the offseason. So he’s behind in his throwing program. I don’t know what that means as far as like a month and a half from now. But right now, he’s behind everybody else.”
That Crawford was experiencing the pain during the 2024 season may also explain why he struggled so much after the All-Star break, pitching to a 6.59 ERA and allowing a league-worst 20 home runs in his final 13 starts.
“He grinded through it,” Cora said. “The offseason was OK as far as the rehab. He had some good days and bad days. He’s been here for a while. He lives in the area. So that’s a good thing. People were able to treat him here. But it hasn’t kind of like gained momentum the right way.”
Brayan Bello, another full-time member of the 2024 rotation, is also dealing with shoulder soreness and has been shut down temporarily, but the Red Sox expect him to begin throwing again on Sunday.
This is also the benefit to finally having some depth in the starting rotation. At this time a year ago, the idea of any Red Sox starter not being ready by Opening Day would have caused utter panic. In fact, that did happen in 2024, when Lucas Giolito went down for the season at the beginning of March.
Now, the Red Sox can afford to let Crawford take his time. Whether he’s going to be a starter or a long reliever this year, he’ll help the team the most if he feels 100% healthy.
