The Red Sox and righty Cooper Criswell have agreed to terms on a contract for the 2026 season, reports FanSided’s Robert Murray. Criswell, a client of Republik Sports, was already on the 40-man roster but wasn’t necessarily a lock to stick all offseason. He’s now agreed to a fully guaranteed $800K, per Murray, which greatly enhances his chances of staying in place.
Boston could still pass Criswell through waivers at some point this winter. He’s out of minor league options and would thus need to break camp with the club or else be designated for assignment. The fully guaranteed $800K, while only a bit north of the league minimum salary, makes it less likely that he’d be claimed by another club and also ensures that Criswell would accept an outright to the minors. He’d have the right to reject a minor league assignment upon clearing waivers by virtue of the fact that he’s been outrighted in the past, but he doesn’t have the service time necessary to reject and retain the remainder of that guarantee.
The 29-year-old Criswell appeared in seven games for the Sox this year, logging 17 2/3 innings of 3.57 ERA ball but with only an 11.3% strikeout rate. He’s totaled 154 2/3 innings across parts of five major league seasons and carries a career 4.48 ERA, 16.7% strikeout rate and 7.1% walk rate between the Angels, Rays and Red Sox. He also tossed 65 2/3 innings of 3.70 ERA ball for the Sox’ Triple-A affiliate in Worcester this season, working primarily as a starter.
While Criswell isn’t going to be penciled into next year’s rotation, he’ll be a depth option and could compete for a swing role in camp. Rotation help will be a focus for Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow this winter. Ace Garrett Crochet will again lead the rotation. He’ll be followed by Brayan Bello, but the rest of the group is more in flux. Kutter Crawford missed the entire season due to oblique and wrist injuries — the latter requiring surgery in July. Tanner Houck had Tommy John surgery this summer. Hunter Dobbins’ season ended with an ACL tear. Lucas Giolito is a free agent.
Top prospects Payton Tolle and Connelly Early debuted late in the season and impressed to varying extents, but neither will simply be handed a rotation spot. Veteran Patrick Sandoval should be healthy after spending 2025 rehabbing from UCL surgery. Former top prospect Kyle Harrison, acquired in the Rafael Devers trade, will be in the mix — as will righty Richard Fitts. There are plenty of in-house options, but some of those names could move to the bullpen and others may need more time in Triple-A. Adding a playoff-caliber arm to the rotation mix seems likely, whether that addition comes via free agency or trade.
Good, solid sign. A quality depth starter who has performed well in short spurts with the big league club. As we saw at the end of the season & even in the World Series, you NEVER have enough pitching.
Absolutely. I would love to see the next CBA improve for those fringe players who work hard. While there are no guarantees and the upside is monopoly type money, it’s players like Criswell who “age” without often getting financial security.
Financial security? MLB minimum salary is over 3/4 of a million dollars. Even if it took him three years to accumulate enough time to get a full year’s worth of that minimum salary, he had a better three years than most Americans will ever see in their lives. And he would have done it playing a game, not digging coal or dodging bullets. He’ll be fine.
He’s already made 1.6 million. spotrac.com/mlb/player/_/id/27608#:~:text=2026%20C…
I had expected Criswell to get even more opportunities last year with the big club considering how he had done in the few times he was brought up. Glad they are keeping him in the mix.
same here. I think he had some kind of injury towards the end of the seson.
Criswell is a good depth option to have. Depending on the structure of the bullpen he could stick with the team for the season
Well said. I hope he gets the opportunity.
Good bye Cooper, hope you and Jarren have a good rest of your careers wherever you land.
Not sure of your post Says Sox. Do you think this signing means he’ll be traded?
Dewey – yes, i think the quick work to resign Duran and Criswell means they will be part of a package….if the trade for a #2 SP is from a pitching rich contending team like Cincy, or Seattle looking for offense in Duran than a guy like Criswell is a nice throw in to slot into a rotation at the back end.
I don’t see Cooper having enough trade value to be going anywhere. I think he provides the depth to allow them to move some of the younger pitchers in the deal that lands our #2 starter.
Sad Sox… If we can land a legit #2 SP, I think that will help the Red Sox go deep into October. It will not be cheap, so I think you are right about your good-byes. I am worried about who else it will take for another team to cough up a controllable top of the rotation SP.
I suspect Arias and Garcia would be at the top of wish lists if youre going after a #1/2 level talent, in addition to a young arm or two and perhaps a mlb OFer
I think Early and Tolle will likely be at the top of other teams wish lists.
Monstah – I would have to believe that if we are going to land the type of very good #2 this team needs it will take a mixture of mlb ready and prospects. If i’m following this correctly locking in these contracts with a certainty and a price that are tradeable is step #1.
I fully expect the Red Sox to one way or another go sign trade for someone to pitch behind Crochet. Bello will be locked in and I expect Early, Crawford, Sandoval, Dobbins, Fitts, and Harrison. Tolle might fit in as well especially if his secondaries take a jump.
My expectation is for Early to win one of the jobs out of spring training and very quickly become a mid rotation starter. I think every team that trades with Boston to ask for Connelly Early but barring a big blockbuster Breslow isn’t trading him. I think within a few months he will establish himself as a mid rotation starter with even more upside. He will show up in Spring Training with a tick or two more on his fastball and it will make his secondaries even better. They will have a lot of other options to be the 5th starter but I expect it will come down to Sandoval, Crawford, and Dobbins.
I’m a little surprised that they signed Criswell I thought he was a dfa candidate. It must mean they don’t believe Drohan can stay healthy and they are going to let him go in the rule 5. It will be very interesting to see whom they don’t add to the 40 man. I think they should add Sandlin, Drohan, and Mullins but with the Criswell add I don’t think they can protect all 3.
I think it is all going to depend on the asking price for the #2 guy they go after. My hope is they will have enough other pieces that they can hold onto Early. I think he has too much long term value in the rotation. If you can pull away Skubal and lock him up, that would be a huge one-two punch. Likely not realistic, but look what happened with Crochet. I am probably going to get my hopes up and have the offseason be a bust.
I liked watching Early pitch, but his performances might make him more valuable as a trade chip than as a player. Had we not seen him in the pros, then he’d look like a 5th rounder, an FV 45+, with good, but not great numbers.
My pure guess is that there are teams out there looking like he’s a 6-year #3 SP, and might be willing to pay up for him.
I think for the right player just about anyone could/should be available and I am probably higher on Early than I should be based on the small sample from the majors. I was viewing him as a number #3 starter as well, which is likely unrealistic. There are definitely some pitchers out there that would easily be worth giving him up (especially if they are confident they can sign them to a long term contract).
I’ve watched Connelly Early pitch since he was drafted and I think you should know a little bit about Connelly Early before you make those decisions. Once he decided to leave the West Point, not an easy decision I might add, he decided he wanted to play pro ball. He transferred to Virginia he was then drafted by the Red Sox in the 5th round of the 2023 draft. It was at this point he really took off.
Brian Abraham of the Boston Red Sox said in a podcast the kids an achiever no matter what task, what request he exceeds it and faster than expected. At the end of the 2024 season he had mostly scrapped that loopy curveball because he was getting hammered on it. I thought he would scrap it because his change was so good but no he worked on it in the off-season and when reintroduced in the 2025 it was a different pitch. The Red Sox brass wanted him to increase his fastball velo and get stronger so he spent the entire offseason working on his strength and velocity. He came to camp in 2025 and he was two ticks faster with his fastball in 2024 which made all his other secondaries even better.
Why do I point this out the kids an achiever and incredibly hard worker. I wouldn’t be surprised if his fastball sits a tick or two higher and his secondaries have even better shape next season. This is the kind of kid you bet on not trade. He has six pitches and he knows how to pitch. He has the trifecta he strikes guys out lots of swing and miss, he gets ground balls, and he induces soft contact. The kicker he’s just getting better and better as the competition has gotten better and better.
I’m not saying don’t trade him but be wary of what you’re trading for because it’s very likely this guy is going to better than the guy you trade for within a year or two. He’s a winner and you can’t teach his work ethic.
Thanks for the info. I had a feeling he could be something special, but I really did not know that much about him so was basing it on his success when he got called up. That was why I would be thinking twice about including him in a trade unless you are getting a dominant pitcher that you can tie up with a long term contract like Crochet.
It would also be nice to see a pitcher who came up through the system have success and become a long term solution. There is something to be said about home grown talent.
Uncle it’s amazing how much this Red Sox farm system has switched from what it was a heavy position player system to what is now a heavy pitching system.
The thing that you notice about the kind of pitchers that have been brought into the system since Breslow has taken over they are mostly drafting and signing hard throwers. They are developing velocity in the minors. For years the average velocity in the minor leagues was at or near the bottom of all minor league baseball but I would bet that now are near the top of minor league baseball.
I expect to see lots of pitching being developed over the next 4 or so years. The only troubling thing there have been lots of departures of key personnel from the minor league development team to promotions on other teams most notably Washington. It will be interesting to see what Breslow can do to replace them and keep the pitching farm rolling.
He’s a throw in on a trade to Miami along with Duran, Arias, and a mid level prospect for SP.
Criswell has been great depth but I guess he realizes that Ks are king in 2025, accepting an $800k deal. He must like the coaching staff.
A lot of depth and wild cards already in-house. A trade for a top-end arm wouldn’t hurt though. Don’t want to meet the price for Skubal (1 year), Ryan (turning 30). Maybe Gore if you can extend him. Could line up well for a one-for-one swap of Duran/Wilyer for one of CIN’s southpaws.
800k is a lot for a guy in his situation. MLB minimum salary is 760k. He received a slight increase above the minimum guaranteed and spent 90 percent of last year at AAA.
I know that the Boston brass like Cooper Criswell but he has no options left so he has to make the team all year or be exposed to waivers. He’s now taking up a valuable 40 man spot. Seems weird to nickel and dime Duran then give this guy 800k and a 40 man spot.
Just for the sake of discussion, who would you rather have, him or Guerrero? I’m not high on Criswell, but he looks like a legit low-end BP piece.
Joe that’s a good question and quite honestly between those two I don’t have a good answer.
Criswell is a throw in, back to a team that may trade a SP to the Red Sox, who could be slotted in at 4 or 5
Showing fans everywhere that they are going to try to do this without incurring high costs. Keep the payroll low and pocket the profits. Sounds like a business decision doesn’t it?