The Red Sox announced they’ve avoided arbitration with right-hander Kutter Crawford. Although the team did not disclose salary figures, Chris Cotillo of MassLive reports that it’s a $2.75MM deal. That matches last year’s salary and the projection from MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.
Crawford’s salary was easy to predict. Arbitration prices generally climb each season, but that doesn’t often happen when a player misses an entire year. In those situations, they’ll typically sign for the same amount they made year before. Crawford follows that path and gets an easy bit of business complete before teams and players exchange filing figures on Thursday.
A swingman over his first couple seasons, Crawford made 25 starts three years ago and took all 33 turns through the rotation during his last healthy season. He turned in a 4.36 earned run average over a team-leading 183 2/3 innings in 2024. He posted better than average strikeout and walk numbers but was undone to an extent by a late-season home run spike. Crawford carried a flat 3.00 ERA into the All-Star Break but was tagged for 6.59 earned runs per nine in the second half. He would up leading the majors with 34 homers surrendered overall.
Despite the shaky finish, Crawford was a lock for a season-opening rotation job had he gotten through Spring Training healthy. The Sox revealed that he had been pitching through right knee discomfort for most of the ’24 campaign. Crawford entered camp behind schedule and started the season on the injured list. While working back from the knee issue in June, he sustained a right wrist injury that proved even more serious. Crawford underwent surgery that shut him down for the year.
The salary is modest, so there was no doubt the Sox would tender him a contract. He may need to compete for a rotation spot in camp this time around. Garrett Crochet, Sonny Gray and Brayan Bello are locked into the top three spots. The final two jobs are up for grabs among a number of pitchers.
Patrick Sandoval will be back after missing last season rehabbing elbow surgery. Boston liked Johan Oviedo enough as a back-end arm to part with well-regarded rookie outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia. Top prospects Payton Tolle and Connelly Early debuted late in the season. Kyle Harrison is still in the mix after coming over in the Rafael Devers trade. Most of those pitchers, Crawford included, have minor league options remaining. He could head to Triple-A Worcester or begin the season in long relief if he doesn’t win a rotation spot. Injuries are inevitable, so there’ll be opportunity at some point.
The Red Sox avoided arbitration with Jarren Duran and Connor Wong earlier in the offseason. They’re awaiting resolution on Tanner Houck, Triston Casas, Romy Gonzalez, and Oviedo. There’ll be plenty of settlements over the next two days as teams and players look to avoid filing for hearings.
How does his kutter rate as a pitch
That’s not it.., he was amazing with scissors as a kid.
Gary – Yep they called him Kutter Scissorhands in grade school.
Unlike most players with silly baseball nicknames, Kutter is his legal name given by his parents, who were avid sports fans.
And yes, he heavily relies on his cutter, which he throws about 1/3 of the time.
Him or Sandoval, one is likely to be traded before opening day assuming no injuries or deals involving other starters. At least one spot should be left for a young arm such as Tolle, Early or even Harrison. I’d be shocked if none are dealt and all three start in AAA. Tolle in the pen is though another possibility and that’s the route I’d take leaving Early as the probable fifth starter.
Do you think they held on to Sandoval for an injury year just to trade him? They’re hoping for a Giolito-type contract year out of him. He’ll get a spot, assuming health, along with Crochet/Gray/Bello. The last spot will be open for one of Tolle/Early/Harrison/Crawford/Oviedo. My guess would be Harrison, Then Oviedo and Crawford go to the MLB bullpen as swing men and the young guys head to Worcester. They’ve already traded/let go of some swing starters, so I’d be surprised to see them lose more from this group unless they get one back in a trade.
Ebred, Boston gave up a lot for Ovedio and the team roster has changed since Sandoval was signed. There is no way the team traded Garcia to use Ovedio as a reliever (unless future circumstances dictate it). He’s got a starting job going into the season. Thus, I see another deal likely barring injuries.
dewey – Hopefully it’s Harrison.
I see your point, but it feels like dealing someone from that group may leave them short on arms to fill-in for injuries. They’ve already lost Newcomb, Dobbins, and Fitts who were floating around the 4th/5th rotations spots last year. Seems like Houck is not going to be available either. I think it’s more likely they retain everyone and look to move someone mid-season in a deal for a reliever or a bat.
Dewey-It would be ideal if they could wait until spring training and see how everyone looks. I would assume both Kutter and Sandoval are still a big question mark as they have not proven themselves after returning from serious injuries. I agree it would be nice to see one of the young arms in the lineup, but keeping them in AAA for depth would not be unreasonable. Knowing how quickly they can go through starters, I would not want to end up scrambling. I had thought Harrison might start in the bullpen.
T. Houck will be Boston’s closer in 2027… if there is a season at all.
ebredbaron: Why is your guess Harrison? If he is still improving his repertoire, I would like to keep him and see what he can do. Maybe trade Crawford if his knee will be a recurring issue.
My guess is Harrison will grab the 5th rotation spot because I feel like he’ll beat out Oviedo and Crawford, and Tolle/Early can be stashed in AAA to start the season.
I think Oviedo gets one spot and either Harrison or Sandoval with the other in the bullpen
The pen is lefty thin. The two younglings should be battling for a rotation spot, but if either doesn’t make the rotation they should be slotted into the pen unless they prove they can’t be on the MLB team.
Crawford could also start the year in AAA. I don’t think the $2.75 million eliminates that option. They can’t assume he will be ready for the majors even with spring training to prepare.
If Tolle and Early don’t crack the rotation, they should be sent back to AAA to work on their collective repertoires until they are needed.
I was always a fan of the old Dodgers approach using guys in the pen to see how they pan out while also filling the teams needs there with their young potential starters.
Typically in the past these types of deals for damaged goods that you knew would miss a huge chunk of time or never play again were done by teams that usually didn’t need the signing to pan out as it was a luxury, or teams that were desperate to catch lightning in a bottle with a player they usually couldn’t afford normally, but were willing to take the risk because they could trade them if it panned out.
A good rule of thumb on these deals is that you should expect nothing. It should be thought of strictly as a gamble that you DO NOT NEED to pan out, not part of any type of roster building. Reclamations and bad injury investments are not very good gambles. If they don’t pan out you wasted the money. If they do pan out you may be lucky enough to trade them, but if not they tend to leave if they did well enough to want a better deal.
William-Unfortunately, these days it seems these yearly salaries for guys that are a reclamation project are often done by teams that are going to pinch pennies and it could take away from getting someone that can immediately impact the ability to be competitive.
The Red Sox in general are careful with how money is spent, which I don’t know that I would exactly call pinching pennies, but for some reason they spend a significant amount almost yearly on pitchers that are not able to pitch when the contract is signed. The success with these players has been limited and in some cases their potential upside even if they come back healthy does not justify the contract they receive.
We will see if Sandoval was worth over $18 million for at most one year of play. I agree with you that it just doesn’t seem worth the gamble for players like this with such questionable futures. I would make an exception for a potential ace.
I forgot about Bello! No team wants an injury or two but Crawford is not being paid nearly $3m to start the year in the minors. Another trade is likely. I also heard yesterday on MLB’s morning show not to be surprised if Casas remains that Contreras actually catches. As it was stated, only the Cardinals hated his catching and their best lineup as of today includes all of Yoshida, Casas and Contreras. I’m not saying I agree with him catching but it’s possible, especially if both catchers struggle out the gate.
dewey – Thank you for vindicating me! I took so much crap from the usual no-it-alls for simply saying he could catch at least some games. Good to hear legit analysts agreeing with me.
First off they have paid vastly superior to $3 million in the past and hid them in the minors for the length if the deal . Secondly when Innings eating veterans get 10-15 then 3 million on Kutter is « petty cash ». Also, with the stress put on arms (due to the love of velocity) there is hardly any rotation that gets through a season with a 5 or even a 6 man rotation.
Now it’s 2026, the question is are the Sox better than the team that lost to the Yankees in the playoffs ?
They’ve lost Giolotto and May but replaced them with Oviedo and Gray. They lost Bregman (for now at least) and added Contreras to solve the 1B merry-go-round (plus get Casas back). The 2 question marks are 2B and 3B – which can be solved with a combo of 1 FA (Bichette or Bregman) + and internal move (Mayer or a bounce back of Campbell) or a trade using potentially Durran + pieces .
Overall, the team « looks stronger and better balanced » and Crawford as depth piece who works backs up to full potential in AAA can only be an asset as others get injured,wear down or simply are ineffective.
Would be hard to trade Sandoval. I’d say Harrison is the likeliest to be moved as part of a bigger package.
I’m actually fine if none of the above are traded. Obviously Tolle/Early could be potential 1-2 type arms. For some reason, I think Harrison could be a solid 3-5 guy. I thought he showed decent stuff last year. Control is his thing. Sandoval, I have no idea. Total wild card.
I feel pretty OK with the staff as it is. A major trade would shake things up, but that would likely be for a nice acquisition to help in another area.
Either Bregman or Bichette would bring it all together. And they wouldn’t need to trade any more prospects. I’d be content to take that roster to ST. Even with all the OFs biding for playing time. That’s a whole other issue.
As last year showed, injuries happen. That said, this is the time to trade Duran who becomes too expensive in 27 for some clubs.
Dewey- I completely agree. I still think there is a trade or two still coming.
You’re right, but only if that outfield is productive – there is no certainty that Anthony doesn’t get sophomore regression (unlikely I know but possible) or an injury occurs.
Plus as you said he is « cheap » but not only for trade partners but equally for the Sox themselves ! Let the off season play out – see where Bo and Bregman sign and then in consequence react. Personally, I would have gone after the new Blue Jay 3B as his skill set and cost would be have been (relatively) low compared to what Bichette/Bregman want. Or what D-Backs would require for Marte.
French-I don’t disagree about the Red Sox going after the three free agents from Japan. For the contracts they got I was surprised the Sox did not get in on them. I assume they are all in on Bregman and or Bichette even if they cost an outrageous amount, so decided that was the priority rather take a chance on someone unproven. I assume we will see more happening soon. With 5 potential outfielders even if they did trade Duran and have an injury they could put Yoshida in the outfield (not ideal but still an option). It all depends on what the return is for Duran.
I don’t think it’s going to nearly as hard to move Sandoval as you think. He was pretty good with the Angels despite the dysfunctional organization and 9 million for a with mid rotation potential is not a lot. I could actually see him traded to the Athletics who are desperately looking for pitching and fits their budget.
Bruin – Has a pitcher ever been traded despite not throwing a pitch in more than a year? I would think any trade would happen midseason, not prior to the season. Teams would want to see how he is recovering, where he is at.
Best scenario, he shakes off the rust and pitches really well in June and July …. then he brings back a nice return at the trade deadline.
I don’t know if it’s happened or not but I will say this he’s a long way from his internal brace surgery and he should be fine. They may have to wait until spring training to see how he looks before trading him but I think he’s moved for salary relief and a team like the Athletics should take a chance since they don’t seem to be able to get free agent pitchers to go to that ridiculously offensively friendly park. I’m calling it now before the season opens Sandoval is traded to the Athletics in a mostly salary dump for a low minors flyer or 2. This is especially true if they sign Bregman which I think they will and want to dip sown below that 265 million cbt line.
Bruin – Did you hear Buster saying the Red Sox offered Breggy the same contract that the Tigers offered last year, $171.5M over 6 years.
If true, that would be insane …..
If that’s true he should have been signed already. I don’t think it’s true.
Bruin, Fever- I cant imagine how or why the Sox would offer him that deal. Unless it had multiple opt outs maybe(?) ….but, if they did, it wouldve been signed the second it landed on the desk
Could be a lot of deferred $. I think Bregman’s next contract will likely have a lot of deferred $.
Suit- i agree with you about that., there will be lots of deferred money
sad – Breslow has a history of losing out on a bunch of players and then panicking by overpaying whatever is left. If they feel they aren’t gonna get Marte or Bo or Suarez, I could see them overpaying for Bregman. I just don’t see them starting the season an infielder short, which they are at the moment.
FPG- we are indeed an infielder short. I really just don’t want to overpay for Bregman. I’d much prefer Suarez on something like 2/$48m
Fever- if they offered that aren’t they just bidding themselves up. I really wonder how much interest there is to give him that kind of deal unless most is deferred. I have not heard of any team even making him an offer.
I don’t think Bregman is going to go with opt-outs, again. I can’t imagine he is enjoying this process.
Uncle – Only Bregman, Boras and the teams that made offers know what they offered him. Anybody who says otherwise is just making noise. Breslow has an inner circle of 5 people in on negotiations, they are not gonna leak anything. The Buster leak almost surely came from the Boras camp, they are the ones who have something to gain from it.
Not true..at all. 5/160 was the closest rumor which is off as well by a little.
At this point I think I’d rather have Bichette
“ Has a pitcher ever been traded despite not throwing a pitch in more than a year”
Grayson Rodriguez 2 months ago
Imo the guy that will be moved will be Sandoval and his 9 million salary. Sandoval also doesn’t have any options so he has to either make the team or be traded. If they sign Bregman or Bichette his 9 million can go a long way to keeping them under the that 265 million payrolls that Red Sox ownership seems loathe to go over.
Crawford was pretty good in second half of 2023 and first half of 2024 at the very least a solid back of the rotation guy. He has options so he is cheap insurance probably starts out in AAA since they didn’t trade for Oviedo to not start him in the rotation and I believe that Early is going to look so good in spring training they are going to have to put him in the rotation. Still if someone gets hurt he’s not a bad option to be in the back of the rotation assuming he shows he’s healthy with all signs point to yes he is.
I don’t see the Red Sox putting Tolle in the pen he’s going to start in AAA to refine his secondaries. We have to remember it’s way to early to put him in the pen he’s only pitched one year professionally and really has focused on pitching only for 2 years since before transferred to TCU he was a two way player in College. If after a half season in AAA he just doesn’t seem to be getting any of the secondaries there will be plenty of time to send him to the pen. I think Drohan and Moran will be the lefties out of the pen to start the season barring a late free agent off-season add. Drohan in particular has nasty stuff that should play up out of the pen as long as he stays healthy.
Bruin:
Both players missed the entire 2025 season. Between Crawford and Sandoval, IMO, one or the other will probably need extra time to start the season.
I think they move Sandoval due that 9 million contract.
If he has a healthy Spring Training youre prob right. Elbow surgery is just so unpredicatable. Some come back better than they ever were before, others take two years. Hope youre right, that would make sense.
Bruin- as much as i hate to think about it, if they are gonna move an established affordable SP it probably has to be Bello.
He doesnt fit the Breslow mold, and hes only getting $17+mm the next two years
sorry $15ish mm
Bruin- I could see Harrison in the bullpen to start the year. I agree with others that I just don’t see them trading Sandoval until they get a look at him. They committed the time and money to get him healthy, even if they got $9 million they threw away the $9 million to get him to this point. They would need to get much more than just the money.
dewey- with Tolle’s overpowering fastball i could easily see him as a high leverage arm in the bullpen for a year, while he works on his secondary stuff.
i think a trade is inevitable here, 4 OFs (plus Yoshida), pushing up on 7 SPs, plus whatever plan they have for Casas……
It’s unlikely Sandoval or Crawford are traded any time soon due to missing 2025 with injury. If everyone is healthy, it would be easy for the team to keep Harrison, Tolle and Early in the triple-A rotation to start the season (there’s room now that Dobbins and Fitts are gone) while Crawford could join them, or more likely pitch out of the bullpen (which he has done for the Red Sox in the past).
If Sandoval or Crawford look great in spring training and a team blows the Red Sox away with an offer, they could certainly be traded, but for right now they’re competing for likely one spot.
The Red Sox think highly of Tolle and Early’s future and by keeping them in the minors for a few weeks they will receive an extra year of club control, while avoiding super 2 status after ~8-9 weeks. So they’re not going to the bullpen (at least not before this timeframe). The Red Sox have been pretty clear that neither will be traded, but it’s possible the Red Sox fold on the Diamondbacks reported trade demand of either Tolle or Early for Marte.
Harrison is less of a certainty. He could begin the season in the triple-A rotation, the MLB bullpen or be traded. There’s an off-chance he starts the season in the MLB rotation, but would require an insanely strong spring and/or injuries ahead of him.
As of right now the Red Sox have terrific depth and they seem to like it that way. Uberstine will be in the triple-A rotation, Sandlin will likely continue his relief pitcher conversion and Drohan could compete for an MLB relief spot or go back to the triple-A rotation. They also have Mullins, who looks like more of a reliever (but could factor into the SP depth down the line), and Bennett, who likely starts at double-A given his limited experience at that level.
Tolle needs time in the minors or he should pitch out of the pen for the Sox this year. I don’t think he’s going to be an effective starter unless he’s developed a legitimate offspeed pitch this offseason.
He’s barely had any minor league time and didn’t need that pitch at that level. His fastball is so good that he’ll be a useful reliever whether he develops any other pitches or not
Another FGCU player in MLB 🦅
Gator – Yeah remember Chris Sale too.
The good news for the Red Sox is they have better depth and quality going into 2026. The bad news is they went from a lot of #5 guys to a lot of #3 and #4 depth guys. They really need a 1 A or 2 behind Crochet.
It is becoming obvious they are hoping Gray finds the fountain of youth, Bello becomes that guy which is more hopeful than reality, Oviedo or Sandoval catch lightning in a bottle or Early and Tolle somehow become that Marty Bystrom/Roy Halladay second half surprise in the 2nd half. Of course in the latters case he went on to become an excellent pitcher. Bystrom turned out to be a flash in the pan.
Goose, I still don’t know Bello’s ceiling. If Pedro is still high on him, I’m not going to disagree. That said, he could be a major piece in getting the true guy to slot behind Crochet. If they swing such a trade, I’d be ecstatic sliding Gray down to #3.
dewey- i really do appreciate what Bello is, any upside would be great (and, i think he still has room to grow)
unfortunately, in 2028 his salary doubles. i think the window to trade him may be this year because a team would get two years of reasonable salary
The fun fact is that Boston have improved over the Hot Stove this year. Every year ,there are complaints of inactivity or dumpster diving (especially during the Bloom years). But this season they lost 2 SPs and added to 2,who on paper are better. They lost a disgruntled 3B but added a 1B with versatility and get back Casas too. They resigned their Closer to a fair deal. How has the AL competition faired ? Yankees and Rays have been stagnant. The Jays have been active adding two unproven imports but losing their star SS. Orioles ? They added a big bat but still look as if they’ve regressed overall .
Hot Stove isn’t a vacuum of actions but compared to the 31 others and so far , Breslow has strengthened the team on paper with a top 3 of Crochet-Gray-Bello which is superior to the 3 that were sent out v The Yankees. Only Seattle and the Dodgers have a better 1-3 at this point in time.
I expect that Toronto will be better. They have made it clear they see a window to win. I NEVER expect the Yankees to stand pat. They will address their needs. The Orioles are a better team this year over last. The Rays are in weird place offensively but their pitching will be stronger.
The Craw paid a heavy price for the Red Sox lack of rotation depth two years ago. He deserves another crack at the rotation this year if healthy. I kind of have been waiting for the six man rotation. It’s not using all six throughout the season, it’s giving each one some time off when not full strength. No point pushing someone when you have this kind of depth.
Yep, he’s a horse. Hope he comes back clean and eats up innings. Great depth piece.
I went back and watched some video because I remembered something unusual about his delivery. It’s that he holds the ball behind his head as he approaches the batter. He was fun to watch.
You know who else does that the new guy Witherspoon but with more velocity and more and better secondaries apparently. Crawford looks like he throws it out of his ear very deceptive.
Spare us the kutter
You don’t score a single point when there’s a kutter ball.
Well hopefully he’ll cut the mustard.
Better than cutting the cheese.
Welcome Back Kutter
Every time I see his name I think of that cringe Twitter troll “kutter is king” or whatever. Dude lives online but then again that’s probably how he pays rent.
2.7 mil for literally doing nothing. I see now where I went wrong in life.
He was injured.
That’s his market.
Your comment makes it easy to see where you went wrong in life.
let – Workers Comp, that’s basically what Kutter got paid for last year.
Letitbe – I tell my young adult kids that there is no do overs in life, so be mindful of your decisions, and make them with care, especially marriage and careers.
Leading the league in dingers is nothing to sneeze at. Believe he was tipping pitches with that motion and grip,
.After 20 – 25 HR’s, you’d think Bailey might have mentioned something.
I think it was more his knee thing and losing velocity on fastball that wasn’t high velocity to begin with. Just about all of his stuff plus numbers went down after his first 10 starts. Apparently he injured it in his third start of the year and progressively couldn’t push off thus the decreased velocity and stuff as the season went on. He tried to gut it out but would have probably been better served to go on the DL in 2024 instead of trying to gut through it and costing him the entire 2025 season.
The knee injury only cost him half the season, unless you’re talking in a Final Destination type way, as he broke his wrist at his home in June, which ended his season. He has already been throwing and was preparing for a rehab assignment when the injury occurred.
Bruin – Isn’t it amazing how differently Cora managed in 2024. He was always known for overly-coddling players with plenty of rest etc, and then in 2024 he pushed TWO injured SP’s to over 178 IP and he started Duran in every game except during his suspension.
I’m sure his contract extension had nothing to do with it, right?
That’s great
Players union needs to do smtg about pitchers not getting arbitration raises due to injuries.
Dear Boss:
I know I was out a lot last year and couldn’t contribute to the sales team so I couldn’t enhance revenue for the company, but I demand a raise anyway.
He didn’t demand a raise. He accepted the team’s offer for the same salary as the prior year.