Red Sox positional preview: Crochet leads revamped starting rotation

Red Sox positional preview: Crochet leads revamped starting rotation originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Statistically, the Boston Red Sox starting pitching staff was a surprising bright spot during the team’s mediocre 2024 campaign. After bolstering the group in the offseason, Boston could boast one of the best rotations in baseball in 2025.

Red Sox starters ranked seventh among all MLB teams in ERA (3.81), second in WHIP (1.19), and fourth in batting average against (.236). They finished in the middle of the pack in strikeouts (16th with 771 Ks), but their offseason additions should give them a significant boost in that department.

Garrett Crochet, acquired in a blockbuster deal with the Chicago White Sox, has legitimate Cy Young stuff. Walker Buehler has two All-Star nods and World Series titles under his belt, and All-Star righty Lucas Giolito adds even more upside in his return from Tommy John surgery.

The returning starters — Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford, and Brayan Bello — each took the mound in at least 30 games in 2024. Houck broke out as Boston’s de facto ace and earned his first All-Star selection.

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If this new-look rotation stays healthy, it has the potential to be special. Below, we’ll continue our Red Sox positional preview series with an in-depth look at the club’s top six starters for the 2025 season.

Garrett Crochet, LHP

2024 stats: 6-12, 3.58 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 209 SO, 33 BB, 146 IP (32 starts with Chicago White Sox)

Age: 25

Contract status: Signed one-year, $3.8 million contract to avoid arbitration. Free agent in 2027.

Outlook for 2025: With Crochet in the fold, the Red Sox have finally found a legitimate ace to lead the rotation.

Crochet flirted with Cy Young consideration for a chunk of the 2024 campaign, during which he struck out 209 batters and walked only 33 across 146 innings (32 starts). The southpaw was put on an innings limit in the second half of the season due to his injury history (Tommy John surgery) and lack of previous experience as a starter.

The Red Sox will unleash Crochet in 2025, making him a popular Cy Young pick with Opening Day approaching. As of Tuesday, he has the second-best American League Cy Young odds behind only 2024 Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal (Detroit Tigers).

With elite strikeout stuff, Crochet has often drawn comparisons to former Red Sox lefty Chris Sale. If he can avoid the injury bug — something Sale was unable to do in his final few years with Boston — it’ll go a long way toward helping the Red Sox earn their first postseason berth since 2021.

Tanner Houck, RHP

2024 stats: 9-10, 3.12 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 154 SO, 48 BB, 178.2 IP (30 starts)

Age: 28

Contract status: Signed one-year, $3.95 million contract to avoid arbitration. Free agent in 2028.

Outlook for 2025: Houck was expected to pitch out of the Red Sox bullpen in 2024, but he took Giolito’s place in the rotation after Boston’s offseason addition went down with a season-ending elbow injury. Despite entering the year with more success as a reliever, he became Boston’s de facto ace with an All-Star campaign.

Houck shattered the narrative that he couldn’t pitch deep into games. He finished the season with 178.2 innings pitched across 30 starts. In April, he tossed a Maddux (fewer than 100 pitches thrown in a complete game) vs. the Cleveland Guardians for the first shutout of his career.

Houck duplicating his 2024 success would give the Red Sox a fearsome 1-2 punch atop their rotation. He’ll look to have a stronger second half after experiencing shoulder fatigue and a velocity dip over the final months of last season. There will be far less pressure on him this time around with other high-upside options joining him on the staff.

Walker Buehler, RHP

2024 stats: 1-6, 5.38 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, 64 SO, 28 BB, 75.1 IP (16 starts with Los Angeles Dodgers)

Age: 30

Contract status: Signed one-year, $21.05 million contract with mutual option for 2026.

Outlook for 2025: Buehler is looking to bounce back after a rocky return from Tommy John surgery in 2024. However, he finished the year with a strong postseason performance that helped the Los Angeles Dodgers to a World Series title — his second with the organization.

The two-time All-Star has ace upside when healthy. The last time he was at full strength — the 2021 season — he posted a 2.47 ERA with 212 strikeouts in 207.2 innings pitched, earning him his second All-Star selection and a fourth-place Cy Young finish.

Consider Buehler a strong “Comeback Player of the Year” candidate. If the Red Sox clinch a playoff berth, they’ll lean heavily on the two-time World Series champ. His 18 postseason starts are by far the most on Boston’s roster.

Brayan Bello, RHP

2024 stats: 14-8, 4.49 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 153 SO, 64 BB, 162.1 IP (30 starts)

Age: 25

Contract status: Signed six-year, $55 million contract extension in 2024 with a club option for 2030. Free agent in 2031.

Outlook for 2025: Bello has shown flashes of brilliance, but the former top prospect has yet to live up to the hype that came with his arrival to the big leagues. There is pressure on the young righty to break out as the Red Sox showed their faith in him before the 2024 season with a six-year extension.

While his 2024 numbers don’t jump off the page, Bello’s availability was a huge plus. He was one of three Sox starters to make 30 starts, and with injury concerns throughout the rest of the rotation, he’ll be counted on to do the same in 2025.

There’s reason to believe Year 4 will mark the Bello breakout Boston fans have been waiting for. He took his game to another level in the second half of last season, posting a 3.00 ERA in August and a 3.55 ERA in September.

Lucas Giolito, RHP

2024 stats: N/A

Age: 30

Contract status: Signed two-year, $38.5 million contract in 2024 with vesting option for 2026. Free agent in 2027.

Outlook for 2025: Giolito is the forgotten one in the Red Sox rotation after missing all of 2024 due to Tommy John recovery. There’s a wide range of outcomes for the former White Sox righty, but he joins Buehler as another proven veteran with unquestionable upside. The 30-year-old was an All-Star in 2019 and earned Cy Young votes in each season from 2019 to 2021.

Giolito will need to cut down on the homers allowed. He let up 41 home runs in his brutal 2023 campaign spent with the White Sox, Los Angeles Angels, and Guardians. That won’t fly this year, especially with the next member of the rotation also struggling with the long ball…

Kutter Crawford, RHP

2024 stats: 9-16, 4.36 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 175 SO, 51 BB, 183.2 IP (33 starts)

Age: 29

Contract status: Signed one-year, $2.75 million contract to avoid arbitration. Free agent in 2029.

Outlook for 2025: Crawford was the Red Sox’ best starter for the first couple of months in 2024. He ended up regressing to the mean, finishing the year with a 4.36 ERA and 4.65 FIP. The righty allowed an MLB-leading 34 homers.

The additions of Crochet, Buehler, and Giolito may have made Crawford the odd-man out in the rotation. However, it wouldn’t be a shock to see the Red Sox use a six-man rotation to begin the 2025 season as they have a grueling schedule out of the gate. Regardless, Crawford being a fringe starter heading into the campaign underscores the Red Sox’ newfound pitching depth if his recent knee soreness doesn’t turn into a more serious issue.