The Boston Red Sox are hoping to climb the standings in the American League East this year. If they can get past the defending American League champion Toronto Blue Jays, the powerhouse New York Yankees and the resurgent Baltimore Orioles, Alex Cora and the Red Sox will likely have one of the best pitching staffs in the Major Leagues.
There may be a questionable lack of offensive power on the Red Sox, but the starting pitching looks loaded. Garrett Crochet begins Year 2 of his Red Sox run as the team's No. 1 starter.
Crochet came to the Red Sox in a trade with the Chicago White Sox, and the left-hander signed a long-term deal to remain with the Red Sox early in the season. Crochet finished the season with an 18-5 record, a 2.59 earned run averaged and h struck out a league-leading 255 batters in 205.1 innings. By the end of the season, he was considered the No. 2 pitcher in the American League behind Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers.
Cora believes that Crochet has been an incredibly impressive performer for the Red Sox. “He set the tempo in the clubhouse,” Cora said, per the MLB Radio Network. “Crochet wanted to be the No. 1 with a big market team. He was amazing in his first game last season in Texas and his last game in New York. He threw 118 pitches in his last game in New York and he was amazing.”
Boston is hoping that Crochet, Ranger Suarez, Sonny Gray and Brayan Bello give the team a dominant pitching rotation in 2026.
