The Boston Red Sox are coming off a 5-2 loss against the Minnesota Twins yesterday in Grapefruit League play. Today they will take on the Tampa Bay Rays at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers, FL. Kutter Crawford will take the ball making his fourth start of the spring and he is 1-0 with a 1.13 ERA, a 0.88 WHIP, and seven strikeouts in eight innings. Crawford will be in the starting rotation to start 2024 and is expected to be the #3.
Red Sox Notes
Opening Day Pitcher
Brayan Bello has been named the Opening Day starter for the Red Sox. This spring Bello has struggled a little in his four starts going 0-1 with a 4.85 ERA, a 1.23 WHIP, and 11 strikeouts in 13 innings. He pitched against the Braves on Sunday going five innings giving up one run on four hits; he walked one and struck out five one of his best starts of the spring and he will now take the ball on the Opening Day when the Red Sox take on the Mariners in Seattle.
Remaining Rotation Battles
The four and five spots are up for grabs in the rotation and the battle is between Tanner Houck, Garrett Whitlock, and Cooper Criswell as the Red Sox have informed Josh Winckowski that he will be in the bullpen to start the season. Winckowski this spring has appeared in four games and three of them came as starts going 0-1 with a 4.76 ERA, a 1.24 WHIP, and six strikeouts in 11.1 innings. Tanner Houck this spring has made five appearances with two starts going 2-0 with a 2.40 ERA, a 0.87 WHIP, and 16 strikeouts in 15 innings. Garrett Whitlock has made five starts going 2-0 with a 3.45 ERA, a 0.96 WHIP, and 16 strikeouts in 15.2 innings. Cooper Criswell has made five appearances with three of them coming as starts going 0-1 with a 3.77 ERA, a 1.19 WHIP, and 13 strikeouts in 14.1 innings. The Red Sox are keeping it tight-lipped on who has the inside track to be the number four and five starters.
Vaughn Grissom
Grissom was already announced as he won’t be ready for Opening Day to make his Red Sox debut and now it sounds like he won’t be back until mid or late April as he is dealing with a groin strain all spring. Enmanuel Valdez and Pablo Reyes will likely share the second base duties until Grissom is back. Alex Cora also said Ceddanne Rafaela will be getting some reps at second base and shortstop as Grapefruit League play winds down, but Rafaela is on track to potentially be the Red Sox starting center fielder on Opening Day.
Trevor Story
Story has had a fantastic spring, playing in 13 games and he is hitting .324 with a 1.028 OPS; he has four doubles, two home runs, eight RBI, five runs scored, four walks, and two stolen bases. He has hit a home run twice in his last four games and has six RBI in those games.
