How Alex Cora views the Red Sox’ rotation shaping out through first couple weeks of spring training
Cora has at least three, if not four, pitchers penciled into the Red Sox' starting rotation.
Several questions still remain unanswered in the backend of the Red Sox’ starting rotation, but Alex Cora gave some possible answers on how things might shape out ahead of their Grapefruit League opener on Saturday.
The Red Sox manager told reporters that Lucas Giolito, Brayan Bello, and Nick Pivetta will be in the starting rotation, barring health. He also added that Kutter Crawford is trending toward getting one of the other spots, leaving one spot open in the five-man rotation.
“As of now, if everything stays the same and they’re healthy, Lucas is in the rotation and Nick is in the rotation. Brayan, too,” Cora said. “We believe Kutter is a starter, but we have to make decisions accordingly, but I believe his future is there, he’s proven it before. So we’re going to give him a lot of chances, or let’s say he has the lead in that one. Then after that, we’ll see how it goes.”
Cora’s outline of which four starters are penciled into the rotation in the early weeks of camp isn’t much of a surprise. Giolito and Bello have always been starting pitchers, while Pivetta seemed to impress those in the organization after working as a long reliever last before posting strong numbers in his return to the rotation late in the year.
Crawford, meanwhile, put up decent numbers after he became a regular fixture in the rotation in June last season, going 5-6 with a 4.20 ERA with 105 strikeouts and a 1.45 ERA in his final 21 starts. He had trouble pitching deep into games though, only pitching 98 2/3 innings over those 21 starts.
If all four are healthy when the Red Sox break camp, that means Tanner Houck, Garrett Whitlock, and Josh Winckowski are battling for the fifth spot. Cora seemed to indicate that the club will look to see how those pitchers have helped downplay their weaknesses in the last month to help make a decision.
“We know about all of them and each one of them have their strengths and have shown some weaknesses throughout their career,” Cora said. “Tanner, strike throwing. Kutter, can he maintain his stuff? Whit, can he stay healthy? Winckowski, can he maintain his stuff? That’s something that we’re going to take a look at.”
Of those three pitchers, Houck’s the most experienced in the rotation. The righty exclusively pitched as a starter last season, going 6-10 with a 5.01 ERA in 106 innings over 21 starts. Similar to Crawford, Houck’s had problems lasting deep into games he’s started over his four-year career, averaging fewer than five innings pitched per start. He also threw just 8.4 strikeouts per nine innings last year, which would have ranked closer toward the bottom of eligible starting pitchers.
The Red Sox have tested Whitlock out in the rotation over the last two years after a strong first season with team as a reliever in 2021. But he hasn’t had great results there, going 4-3 with a 5.23 ERA in 10 starts last year. He also dealt with hip and elbow injuries over the last two seasons, leading to question if he can deal with a full season workload of pitching in the rotation.
Winckowski was one of the Red Sox’ best bullpen arms last season as he went 4-4 with a 2.68 ERA over 60 appearances. But the 25-year-old worked his way to the majors in 2022 as a starter, struggling in his first season in the big leagues with a 5.89 ERA over 15 appearances (14 starts).
Of course, there is an easier way for the Red Sox to help fill out the last spot in their rotation. Jordan Montgomery, Blake Snell, and other notable pitchers remain free agents, giving Boston an opportunity to add to the top of its rotation and create a trickle-down effect. As the Red Sox have been linked to Montgomery for much of the offseason, the team is still “prioritizing” the lefty but is waiting for his price to come down, WEEI’s Rob Bradford reported Friday.
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