The Red Sox have given right-hander Kutter Crawford a vote of confidence as a starting pitcher, as The Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham relays that the Sox are planning on keeping Crawford in the rotation going forward after a pair of short starts since joining the rotation at the beginning of June. While the starts lasted just 40 and 58 pitches, respectively, the overall numbers have been solid, as Crawford allowed three earned runs on seven hits and zero walks while striking out six.
It’s been a strong season for Crawford, who has posted a 2.20 ERA, 3.00 FIP, and 24% strikeout rate in 32 2/3 innings of work after a four inning, seven run outing to open the season against the Pirates. The success is particularly welcome after the 27-year-old struggled in a swing role for 77 1/3 innings last season, posting a 5.47 ERA and 4.34 FIP. With Crawford now in the rotation, the Red Sox still have Corey Kluber, Nick Pivetta, and Josh Winckowski in the bullpen as potential multi-inning relief options.
More from around the AL East:
- Sticking with the Red Sox, top outfield prospect Miguel Bleis is expected to miss the rest of the 2023 season after undergoing shoulder surgery, according to Chris Henrique of Beyond The Monster. A consensus top 100 prospect who ranks as high as 39th over at Fangraphs, Bleis struggled in his first taste of full-season ball in 2023, slashing just .230/.282/.325 in 142 plate appearances at Single-A this season. Now sidelined until 2024, the 19-year-old Bleis was already expected to be several years away from the majors, though it’s possible the coming surgery slows his timeline further.
- After 2022 AL Cy Young finalist Alek Manoah was sent to the minors earlier this week, the Blue Jays are expected to ramp up their search for external pitching options, even as the 2023 trade deadline is still several weeks away. GM Ross Atkins told reporters, including Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet, that the club has “intensified those discussions over the last several weeks”, referring to the front office’s exploration of external options for the pitching staff. Reinforcements could provide a huge boost to Toronto as they’re stuck at fourth place in the AL East race despite a strong 36-29 record, thanks in part to the struggles of key contributors like Manoah, Yimi Garcia, and Yusei Kikuchi.
- The Orioles recalled left-hander Cole Irvin to start today’s game against the Royals, per a team announcement. Acquired this past offseason in a trade with the A’s, Ivin has not built on a strong 2022 campaign (3.98 ERA in 181 innings) during his first season as an Oriole, posting a 10.38 ERA in 13 innings of work in the majors. That being said, his work at Triple-A has been much better, with a 3.21 ERA in seven starts (42 innings). With youngster Grayson Rodriguez relegated to Triple-A for the foreseeable future, it’s possible Irvin could earn himself a more permanent spot in the rotation with a quality performance this afternoon.
Otto371
Please fix the last sentence of the Bleis paragraph. It is incoherent.
MarkNYM
I thought it was me
DCartrow
Me too.
Ignorance is Bleis?
GhostOfKevinElster
Cry about it. It is fine
n888
Good to know they aren’t planning on keeping him in the rotation going backward
DonOsbourne
The Jays should call the Cardinals about Dakota Hudson. He could be had very cheap, there is no reason to wait until the deadline to make a deal on him, and maybe Toronto could fix him. There is no risk for either team.
miltpappas
Bring back Bass!
NoSaint
@miltpappas
Technically he hasn’t gone anywhere.
NoSaint
@DonOsbourne
There’s dozens of AAAA players the Jays should be in on. The team is right against the next tier of the luxury tax. Unless they can shed some salary, it’s difficult to see them entering the next tier.
DonOsbourne
If the return was right, the Cardinals could actually take on some short term bad money to help facilitate a trade.
NoSaint
@DonOsbourne
If the cards are going to take on bad money (Bass for example), the second piece the Jays add will have to compensate for that bad money. There’s also nothing incentivizing the Cards to deal any one. The Braves, Rangers, and Brewers bullpens seem more in need for a bullpen piece like Bass than the cards do.
Jack Marshall
Kluber is not an option in the bullpen or on the mound, I assume he’ll be given one more mop-up job to crash and burn in (again) and be released.
What disastrous signing….
vtadave
At least it was only a one-year deal.
deGrom however…
all in the suit that you wear
Maybe they are keeping Kluber around because he is helping the younger pitchers.
KD17
AITSTYW – The younger guys? What tying shoe laces? Why would you suggest that Kluber is doing something without knowing for a fact that he is doing it? To make Bloom look better? To make Kluber look better?
Face it. Both are bad at their jobs!!!
all in the suit that you wear
KD: I said maybe because I don’t know if for a fact. Kluber is not providing value on the field, so MAYBE he is providing value off the field.
Claydagoat
“Disaterous” Implies Kluber would have some sort of actual effect on the team that caused a, you know, disaster.
It’s more like an irrelevant signing.
AverageCommenter
No, Kluber has cost the team quite a few games that they couldn’t really afford to give away. His ERA is above 7 in June. I’d call it disastrous
Claydagoat
The Red Sox aren’t going to make the playoffs with or without him pitching well. You think if he wasn’t pitching they’d be in the playoffs?
Where’s the disaster? Cut him, move on, whatever.
MLB-1971
Average – yes, the Kluber signing has been a disaster! At this point he is neither a starter or reliever. His 3 inning 7 earned runs mop up was not worth keeping him.
Samuel
Irvin had a nice game – 5.1 innings, 1 run, 5 K’s….although it was the Royals.
As an organization the Orioles are in the top 5 in fixing and developing players that have lost it. They sent him down to have their minor league staff help him regain his command. He’s done that. If he stays within himself he’ll be a major contributor for the rest of the season.
terrymesmer
Please do research.
>Toronto…stuck at fourth place….thanks in part to the struggles of…Yusei Kikuchi
Jays are 9-4 in Kikuchi starts — BY FAR the best record for any Toronto starter.
nitnontu
The team’s good record when a particular pitcher starts doesn’t necessarily mean he has been effective (or hasn’t been struggling).
bluejays4life
Sure he might be struggling but the teams struggles are not in large part because of him
JoeBrady
Based on my quick look at his game logs, my guess is that the Jays should be 8-5 in his starts. He had five starts giving up 1 or less ERs, and 3 starts giving up 2 ERs, though each start was 5 innings.
MLB-R has been extremely sloppy lately. They need to hire an editor to challenge some of their assumptions. The ONLY reason why they are at .545 (which is still decent) is Manoah. Even if Manoah was just 5-3, instead of 1-7 this year, then TO would have the #5 record in baseball.
smuzqwpdmx
Kikuchi almost never making it past 5 innings is one of the reasons for the bullpen struggles… though some of that is on the manager for yanking him.
DarkSide830
If the season ended today, Kikuchi would have a new season-best ERA. That’s saying something given it’s all of 4.34. Career ERA near 5.00 – he’s not good.
Whyme
Kikuchi is fine as a fifth starter.