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.

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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.

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