Red Sox Have Plenty to Consider After Kutter Crawford, Patrick Sandoval Update

What does this staff look like in a month?

Feb 17, 2026; Lee County, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher Kutter Crawford (50) poses for a photo during media day at JetBlue Park. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

We knew the Boston Red Sox could have an absurdly deep pitching staff before long, but Sunday showed us that the day may be drawing near for some decisions to start getting made.

Already with six capable starting pitchers on the active roster, the Red Sox will get two more arms back before long. The timeline isn't perfectly clear yet, but Kutter Crawford and Patrick Sandoval are both poised to take big steps forward on Monday.

According to Christopher Smith of MassLive, Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Sunday that the two pitchers, both of whom haven't appeared in a major league game since 2024, will throw four innings each in a simulated game at the Red Sox's spring training complex in Fort Myers, Fla.

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What Red Sox will need to sort out with Crawford, Sandoval

While Sandoval and Crawford appear to have arrived on a similar timeline, they're still in completely different situations. The former is now more than 18 months removed from Tommy John surgery, while the latter only had a knee injury to worry about this time last year, then injured his wrist doing housework so badly it required surgery.

There's also each player's contract situation to consider. Sandoval cannot be optioned to the minors, while Crawford can if necessary. Boston needs to decide in both cases whether it's worth having one take over long relief duties in the majors, or whether they should stay stretched out as starters and kept in the minors as long as possible.

The unfortunate truth of Major League Baseball is that oftentimes, pitching depth wears thin without warning. Sandoval and Crawford might seem like movie extras right now, but they might be counted upon for crucial innings, perhaps even starts, before the season is halfway through.

We can say this for a lot of injured Red Sox players, but at this moment in time, it's just not clear what the role for each of these pitchers is going to be when they do return, and that's just more work on Alex Cora's and Craig Breslow's plates in a tricky year for this talented roster.