PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. – The Red Sox Opening Day roster is far from set this early in spring training, but a few key members of the ’24 squad are already at risk of not being ready for the regular season.
Manager Alex Cora admitted Saturday that Kutter Crawford’s Opening Day status is in jeopardy. The right-hander pitched through a knee injury for most of last season, but an offseason of rest and rehab hasn’t been enough to get him where he needs to be.
“It looks like it’s going to be long,” Cora said of Crawford’s timetable. “Opening Day right now is kind of like, an ‘if.'”
Asked if surgery is on the table for the right-hander, Cora said, “Not that I know of.”
Brayan Bello is also behind the other starters. He’ll do a strength test on Sunday to see where he’s at in his throwing program after being shut down briefly last week due to shoulder soreness. Cora reiterated that both pitchers are still not throwing with the same “intensity “as the others.
Other members of the rotation are slated to make their first spring training appearances as early as Sunday (Garrett Crochet) and Monday (Tanner Houck); Bello and Crawford haven’t even faced live hitters yet.
“I don’t think in a week,” Cora said of Bello’s timetable for games. “He’s not even throwing bullpens.”
Wilyer Abreu has yet to begin baseball activities as he deals with from an undisclosed health issue.
“The labs came in Friday,” Cora said, “Still something there, so he’ll get another lab on Monday and we’ll see where we’re at.”
“I don’t want to get into it but there’s something going on,” he added. “Until we get the clearance from the doctors, we’ll stay away from him.”
Rafael Devers is also behind in his ramp-up, and Cora said he didn’t know exactly when the slugger will get into his first game. The Sox skipper did, however, announce that Alex Bregman, Trevor Story, and a slew of other key big-leaguers will be in Sunday’s lineup. Bregman is slated to start at third, with Story at shortstop.
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