The Boston Red Sox, who had trouble finding five reliable starting pitchers last season, are now considering using a six-man rotation in 2025.
“We have had some conversations,” said Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow on Monday, after trading for starter Garrett Crochet and signing free agents Patrick Sandoval and Walker Buehler.
“We’re very, very open to a number of solutions,” Breslow added. “I don’t think it’s possible to have too much starting pitching depth, and we know we’re going to call on more than just five guys — whether that’s right out of the gates or at some point during the season. But the schedule early in the season potentially lends itself to maybe using a sixth starter.”
The Red Sox entered last season without two possible aces, having traded future NL Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale to Atlanta right before Lucas Giolito injured his elbow in spring training, causing him to miss the whole season.
Although the team was close to competing around the All-Star break, their starting pitching struggled in the second half, weakening the bullpen and leaving the team out of the playoffs for a third consecutive year.
However, Breslow has worked hard to add starters this offseason.
In a trade during the winter meetings, the Red Sox acquired Crochet from the Chicago White Sox for four prospects. The hard-throwing left-hander went 6-12 with a 3.58 ERA in 32 starts for a Chicago team that finished with the most losses since 1900.
The Red Sox have also signed Buehler, a two-time All-Star who pitched when the Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series, and Sandoval, who is recovering from elbow surgery.
“I think it gave us a chance to take a really good rotation and potentially catapult it into an elite level,” Breslow said on a call with reporters.
Buehler, 30, went 1-6 with a 5.38 ERA in 2024 after missing the previous year recovering from Tommy John surgery. However, in the postseason, he went 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA and a save, retiring the side in order and striking out the last two batters in Game 5 of the Series against the New York Yankees to protect a 7-6 lead.
Sandoval, 28, went 2-8 with a 5.08 ERA for the Los Angeles Angels before injuring his elbow in June while facing Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers. “We’re hopeful he’s going to be able to help this team in the second half,” said Breslow.
These new pitchers join a rotation that already includes Giolito, Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford, Brayan Bello, and Garrett Whitlock.
“We feel like we’ve got not just five or six starters, but eight or 10,” Breslow said. “We’ve got to feel pretty good about where we are now.”
Breslow said he is now focusing on balancing Boston’s lefty-heavy lineup and improving the bullpen. What’s not being considered right now is trading 24-year-old first baseman Triston Casas, who batted .241 with 13 home runs and 32 RBIs while missing nearly two months due to torn cartilage in his rib cage.
“We’re not shopping Triston. We’re really excited for him to be completely healthy,” Breslow said. “When you have really good young players, I don’t think it’s a surprise other teams may ask about him.”
Trading Casas could allow the Red Sox to move Rafael Devers, who has made 141 errors in 951 games at third base, to first base.
“Raffy is our third baseman,” Breslow said. “That said, we’ll be open-minded, we’ll be creative in how we put together our best roster. But as things stand right now, Raffy’s our third baseman.”
