In theory the Red Sox have more starting pitchers than they can reasonably accommodate, but injuries will inevitably put that depth to the test.
To some extent, it’s already happening.
Alex Cora told reporters in Fort Myers on Wednesday that Brayan Bello and Kutter Crawford are both still behind the other pitchers and at this point are only playing catch at low intensity. Bello was shut down for a few days early in camp with shoulder soreness and Crawford pitched nearly the entire 2024 season with right knee soreness that has lingered throughout the offseason.
Lucas Giolito, who is completing his recovery from elbow surgery last spring, also isn’t quite ready for game action just yet.
With that being the case, and with the Red Sox set to open the season with 20 games in 21 days, the club may need to lean on some of its depth arms right out of the gate.
Cooper Criswell, Quinn Priester and Richard Fitts will be among those jockeying for position in the starting pitcher pecking order this spring, and if Bello, Crawford or Giolito aren’t ready for Opening Day there could be an opportunity for one or more of those three to start the season in the big league rotation.
“It’s a competition. Obviously this doesn’t tell you the whole story, there’s information that comes into play and obviously Coop did it for us last year, he did a good job for us, the other two, they came up and were good,” Cora said. “We’ll take the best ones, understanding that all of them at one point are going to impact the big league roster.”
Others could potentially factor into the equation as well. Josh Winckowski has prior starting experience at the big league level, and Cora said Michael Fulmer, a former Rookie of the Year winner who spent all of last season rehabbing from elbow surgery, will also be stretched out.
One pitcher who definitely won’t be in the rotation mix is Garrett Whitlock.
“We’re not going to play with the Whitlock thing,” Cora said. “He’s going to be a reliever.”
With Opening Day still more than a month away there’s plenty of time for the rotation to sort itself out. Cora said Bello started throwing on Monday and is working through his progression, and he said the club’s expectation for Giolito is “to start 30 games and help them win ballgames.”
But whether they’re ready for Opening Day or if other unforeseen setbacks emerge on the staff, Cora is confident the club will have enough depth to compete no matter what.
“We’ll see, right now we’re healthy, we’re deep, (Bello and Crawford) are behind, we’re going to be ok, we’ve got some quality arms and that’s what makes it fun,” Cora said. “We’re going to be deeper than in previous years and we have some guys who got some experience last year towards the end and we know they’re capable of coming up here to break camp with us.”