Sep 20, 2019; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; A detail view of Boston Red Sox hats and gloves at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-Imagn Images Kim Klement-Imagn Images

Red Sox 29-Year-Old Already Behind in Starting Rotation Battle

Originally posted on Boston Red Sox on SI
By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated Feb 16, 2026 9:00 AM ET

The Boston Red Sox have a week of Spring Training action under their belt and will kick off games on Friday when they face off against the Northeastern Huskies in their annual clash.

Boston will follow up with its first big leauge Spring Training game on Saturday when it takes on the Minnesota Twins. Things are moving and it will be a sprint from there on until Opening Day arrives on March 26. Baseball is back, but one of the club's starters is already a bit behind schedule early in camp.

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Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reported that Kutter Crawford is "behind the rest of the starting pitchers" as he attempts to work his way back after missing the entire 2025 season.

The Red Sox hurler is working his way back

"Kutter Crawford is behind the rest of the starting pitchers, including his competition in the fight for the No. 5 spot in the Red Sox rotation," Healey wrote. "He has not faced batters yet; the others have. He is still at the stage of multi-inning bullpen sessions, a slow-by-design approach to camp after he missed last season because of knee and wrist injuries. It doesn’t help, either, that a bout of the flu last month cost him more than a week. 'Because I missed so much time, we’re trying to build it up probably a little bit slower that way,' Crawford said. 'That way we don’t shock the body.'

"Asked if this means he will miss the start of the season, Crawford said: 'That I do not know. That is a little bit further down the road. I kind of take it one day at a time, one week at a time, one mound session at a time. I don’t know what the plan is there.'"

Crawford is someone seemingly in the mix for the No. 5 spot in the rotation with Johan Oviedo and Patrick Sandoval. Connelly Early and Payton Tolle are two other options as well. But with Crawford already behind, that isn't great for his chances.

This article first appeared on Boston Red Sox on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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