The Sox didn’t have a reliable No. 2 starter. Tanner Houck was their choice to start the season but had an 8.04 ERA through nine starts and landed on the injured list. He had Tommy John surgery on Aug. 18 and is unlikely to pitch before 2027.
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The hope is that 36-year-old righthander Sonny Gray can handle that role after being acquired from the Cardinals on Nov. 25. Gray averaged 30 starts and 177 innings the last three seasons with a 3.63 ERA.
“It’s a guy who has pitched in the front of rotations,” chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said. “Those things that we think pitchers carry from year-to-year — things like strikeout rates and walk rates and the ability to stay off barrels — he excels there.”
If the season were to start today, newly-acquired Sonny Gray would be the most logical option as the Red Sox’ No. 2 starter.Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press
Breslow would not say Gray was his No. 2 starter. But he’s the best candidate barring an addition via trade or free agency.
Righthander Brayan Bello is 25-17 with a 3.91 ERA since agreeing to a six-year, $55 million extension before the 2024 season. He completed six innings in only 16 of his 29 starts last season and averaged only 6.7 strikeouts per nine innings.
Bello has been a few ticks above league average in his career and should be better than that.
The rotation is hazy beyond that. The Sox believe in the potential of 27-year righthander Johan Oviedo, who was acquired from Pittsburg on Dec. 4. He has a 4.39 ERA in 67 career starts but showed a livelier fastball in nine starts last season after returning from Tommy John surgery. He certainly looks the part at 6 feet 6 inches and 275 pounds.
From there, throw a dart. Righthander Kutter Crawford made 33 starts in 2024 but didn’t pitch last season because of a knee injury then a mysterious wrist injury in July that required surgery.
Crawford said he was doing “standard maintenance around the house, outside kind of moving some stuff” when he felt a pop in his wrist. He has since gotten back on the mound and is in position to compete for a rotation spot.
The same would be true for lefthander Patrick Sandoval, who missed the season recovering from Tommy John surgery. He had a 4.01 ERA in 100 starts for the Angels from 2019-24.
Kyle Harrison appeared in only three games for the Sox after being acquired from the Giants in the Rafael Devers trade. The 24-year-old lefthander is 9-9. 4.49 in 37 career starts.
Lefthanders Connelly Early and Payton Tolle each made their major league debuts last season and will go to spring training as rotation candidates.
Connelly Early was called up in September and made four regular-season starts and then getting the ball in the deciding Game 3 of the Wild Card Series against the Yankees.Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff
Tolle has a big fastball but is still learning to command his other pitches. Early doesn’t throw particularly hard — his fastball averaged 93.7 miles per hour — but has a six-pitch mix.
The Sox have improved dramatically at developing pitchers in recent years, to a point where it’s fair to expect they’ll have rotation options pop up in the minors over the course of the season.
Jake Bennett had a 2.27 ERA in 19 games over three levels in the Nationals farm system before he was swapped for fellow prospect Luis Perales on Dec. 15. The 6-6, 240-pound lefty only allowed three home runs over 75⅓ innings.
Lefthander Shane Drohan had a 2.36 ERA in 11 starts for Triple A Worcester last season. Righthander Tyler Uberstine also showed progress last season, posting a 3.95 ERA over 25 games at two levels while righthander John Holobetz climbed from Single A to Double A and had a 3.03 ERA over 23 games.
Lefty Hayden Mullins was 8-2 with a 2.21 ERA in 22 games last season. The 25-year-old could become an option if he gets to Worcester and pitches well.
Righthanders Marcus Phillip and Kyson Witherspoon were drafted in 2025 out of major college programs in the first four rounds. The Sox didn’t assign them to minor league teams, preferring instead that they work out at the team complex in Florida.
That was the route the Sox took with Tolle in 2024 after he was a second-round pick and he made his debut last season, so that path is available.
Primary 2025 starters: LHP Garrett Crochet, RHP Brayan Bello, RHP Lucas Giolito, RHP Walker Buehler.
Projected 2026 starters: LHP Garrett Crochet, RHP Sonny Gray, RHP Brayan Bello, RHP Johan Oviedo, LHP Connelly Early.
Major league depth: RHP Kutter Crawford, LHP Payton Tolle, LHP Patrick Sandoval, LHP Kyle Harrison.
Prospects to watch: LHP Jake Bennett, LHP Shane Drohan, RHP John Holobetz, LHP Hayden Mullins, RHP Marcus Phillips. RHP Tyler Uberstine, RHP Kyson Witherspoon.
Peter Abraham can be reached at peter.abraham@globe.com. Follow him on Bluesky at peteabeglobe.bsky.social.