Red Sox's Projected Playoff Pitching Staff When Garrett Crochet Returns

The Boston Red Sox are going to have some very interesting decisions to make in two weeks.

Barring some sort of last-minute surprise, the Red Sox are destined for a rematch with the New York Yankees in the American League Wild Card Series. Boston will almost certainly have to go back to Yankee Stadium and attempt to right what went wrong in the best-of-three series that ended their season last October.

The closer we get to that series, the more it looks like Garrett Crochet will be available for the Red Sox to use out of the bullpen. That's great news, but it also creates a scenario where someone else will be losing a spot. So let's drill down the entire pitching staff if and when Crochet — and fellow All-Star Tanner Houck — comes back.

Red Sox's projected pitching staff

Locks (8): Sonny Gray, Ranger Suárez, Payton Tolle, Jake Bennett, Brayan Bello, Aroldis Chapman, Garrett Whitlock, Erik Miller

Could the Red Sox get cute and leave off Bennett or Bello in favor of a more traditional reliever? Perhaps, but Bello has done his best work this year as a bulk reliever and they'll want him ready in case a starter gets rocked early. Bennett makes it over Patrick Sandoval, who just hasn't looked like he belongs on a major league mound of late.

Injury returns (2): Garrett Crochet, Tanner Houck

If just these two are back, the math is doable. And they've both probably earned the nod even if they haven't appeared in a game all year, because they have a track record of not only succeeding at the highest level, but of being effective relievers.

If Kutter Crawford or Johan Oviedo is ready to go, though, it's very hard to project either of them cracking this group. We're already letting go of the likes of Greg Weissert and Wyatt Olds, both of whom are perfectly healthy.

Last two in: Jovani Morán, Tyron Guerrero

Guerrero would have been a lock as of two weeks ago, but he struggled mightily in his most recent outing before going on the 15-day injured list with shoulder inflammation. He'd be the hardest-throwing righty in this playoff bullpen by a mile, and if he's healthy, he gets the nod.

Morán would be the third true lefty reliever behind closer Chapman and Morán, and it's probably worth keeping him around even if Crochet is healthy just in case of emergency. And Justin Slaten's injury seems serious enough that he wouldn't be back by the end of this month, or he'd take a spot for sure.

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