Red Sox's Kutter Crawford Has Ambitious Goal Amid Rotation Competition

How much of Crawford will we see in the rotation?

Aug 13, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Kutter Crawford (50) pitches against the Texas Rangers at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

It's a bit cliched to call Kutter Crawford the "forgotten man" of the Boston Red Sox's rotation, but he certainly hasn't been the biggest storyline of late.

The Red Sox brought in three starters this winter who likely slot in ahead of Crawford on the current depth chart. Ranger Suárez and Sonny Gray have All-Star appearances to their name, and Johan Oviedo is everyone's breakout candidate after coming over in a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

If the season started on Monday, Crawford likely wouldn't be in the rotation, especially considering we still haven't seen him face live hitters since he underwent wrist surgery. But after missing the entire 2025 campaign, the righty still has lofty goals for himself this year.

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Kutter Crawford wants to be a full-time rotation member

In a recent interview, Crawford revealed that his objective this year is to stick in the Boston rotation all season and qualify for the major league ERA title.

“My goal is to make 25-30 starts this year and throw 160-plus innings,” Crawford said in a Saturday article from Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald. “Obviously I hope to throw more than that but where I’m at with my mound progression, I don’t know how aggressive we’re going to be at the beginning of the season but I definitely plan on having a good workload this year.”

What Red Sox fans have to love about Crawford is his competitive makeup. He got beat a lot two years ago, as evidenced by the major league-worst 34 home runs he surrendered, but he kept going back to the mound and giving it his all, start after start.

The Red Sox are no longer in a position to put a starting pitcher out there simply because he eats innings, but Crawford flashed some run prevention potential in the first half of that 2024 season as well.

While it might take an injury to put him back in the rotation this time around, it's clear that Crawford will be ready to rock if his time comes.

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