Red Sox Wisely Keep 29-Year-Old Depth Starter From Hitting Free Agency

The Boston Red Sox are diving headfirst into the business portion of the Major League Baseball offseason.

Thursday is an important day on many fronts. It's the date by which they have to decide whether to give Lucas Giolito the qualifying offer. It's the day they have to activate players from the 60-day injured list. And as it turns out, it also became the day they figured out where Cooper Criswell fit into the picture heading into spring training.

Criswell, the 29-year-old righty who started 18 games for the Red Sox a year ago, but just one this year, was out of minor-league options after being granted a fourth one this past season. But rather than non-tendering him or dropping him from the 40-man roster, the Red Sox decided to guarantee him a deal.

Cooper Criswell sticking around, could be part of 2026 plans

According to a report from FanSided's Robert Murray, the Red Sox and Criswell agreed on a one-year, $800,000 major league contract on Thursday. The deal is fully guaranteed, so even if the Red Sox designate Criswell for assignment, they'll be on the hook for all of the money.

Criswell only threw 17 1/3 innings for the Red Sox at the big-league level this year, but they could have used him down the stretch, when Walker Buehler was released and the likes of Richard Fitts and Dustin May were lost to the injured list. Unfortunately, Criswell was injured by then as well, dealing with right elbow inflammation.

The one time we saw Criswell take the ball to start a game in the majors this season, he delivered the most clutch performance of his career. On an August Friday night at Fenway Park, Criswell delivered seven strong innings in a game against the Houston Astros that the Red Sox would eventually come back to win 2-1 on a Roman Anthony walk-off single.

Boston finished the season two games ahead of Houston in the wild-card standings. If they'd lost that game, they would have finished tied, both in the standings and the season series.

There's really no downside to keeping Criswell locked in, as the Red Sox can likely find a trade partner for him if he's not projected to earn one of the 13 spots on the big-league pitching staff coming out of spring training. He will be arbitration-eligible for the first time in 2027.

More MLB: Why Red Sox Roster Crunch May Spell Doom For 24-Year-Old Infielder