4 Red Sox pitchers who could get the fifth spot in the rotation in 2024
The Red Sox have several internal options to fill out the last spot in the rotation. Here's a closer look at the competitors.
Craig Breslow, the newly appointed chief baseball officer of the Boston Red Sox, stated Wednesday that Tanner Houck and Garrett Whitlock are still going to be stretched out as starters for now, but that could change later this offseason, per Alex Speier.
Two spots in the Red Sox starting rotation are cemented -- Brayan Bello and Chris Sale. Breslow has also made it very clear in his short time as head of the Red Sox front office that the team plans to aggressively pursue starting pitching. Hypothetically speaking, let's say the Red Sox bring in two strong arms to the current rotation either via free agency or trade. One rotation spot then remains, leaving the question: Who gets the fifth and final rotation spot for the Red Sox in 2024?
Nick Pivetta, Kutter Crawford, Garrett Whitlock, and Tanner Houck have all shifted back and forth between the starting rotation and bullpen at some point. They have all been tolerable in each respective role, showing both flashes of dominance paired with frustrating mediocrity. Additionally, despite being moved to the bullpen, Houck and Whitlock are regularly used as multi-inning bullpen arms anyway. Let's look at each option for a fifth starter.
Nick Pivetta
Nick Pivetta settled into his own in 2023 after a brutal start to the season that led to his demotion to the bullpen. In fact, "Pen-vetta" broke a major league record against the A's last July when he struck out 13 batters over six hitless innings of relief. The later months of the 2023 season saw Pivetta return to the starting rotation to replace an injured James Paxton. Pivetta had a very respectable month of September, throwing 32.4 innings allowing nine earned runs, five walks, and striking out 43 batters.
Kutter Crawford
Each fifth day when Kutter Crawford got the ball, you never really knew what you were going to get. He posted a 6-8 record in 2023 with a 4.04 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 135 punchouts. You could usually count on Crawford to give you five, maybe six innings and usually keep the opposition to four earned runs, give or take. Not Cy Young numbers by any stretch, but with the right offense in place, it's typically enough to etch your name in the win column on most nights. Kutter does struggle with command issues at times, walking 36 batters in 2023.
Tanner Houck
Tanner Houck, in my eyes, is the "favorite child" of the Red Sox rotation. Whether he goes out there and gives you seven scoreless innings or watches four balls clear the Monster onto Landsdowne, Sox fans still embrace the kid. On paper, Houck doesn't fit the bill to be the fifth starter. He was an underwhelming 6-10 in 2023 with a 5.01 ERA and 99 strikeouts. Houck isn't going to go deep into games. He's not going to save your bullpen. And, he's not going to record double-digit strikeouts every time he toes the rubber. However, agree to disagree, Houck knows how to get batters out and has proven that he's efficient enough when called upon.
Garrett Whitlock
A majority of Red Sox fans saw enough of Garrett Whitlock in 2023 to delegate him to the bullpen without a second thought. However, like Houck, he gets batters out and usually puts the Red Sox in a position to win. I would argue Whitlock, unlike a few others, does have the ability to go a little deeper into games and doesn't walk many batters -- only 13 walks in all of 2023 (a career low).
So, who gets the nod in 2024 if the arms above fight for that last rotation spot? Admittedly, for better or worse, I would be fine with any of the four, but, if I'm calling the shots, I'm going with Nick Pivetta. It will be interesting to see how the offseason shakes up the rotation, and what puzzle pieces will ultimately put this thing together.