If Garrett Crochet's start on Wednesday was any indication, Red Sox fans are going to be pretty happy this season.
The 25-year-old left-hander struck out seven over three scoreless innings in Boston’s 4-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. So far this spring, Crochet has thrown 6.1 scoreless innings with 14 strikeouts in three starts. He’s walked five and allowed six hits.
Against the Rays, Crochet struck out the side in the first and at one point reached 101 mph, according to the video board at JetBlue Park via Alex Speier of the Boston Globe.
Crochet's velo readings are all over the place on his fastball... seen 96, 97, 99 on the sinker, and the 101 fastball. (92 mph pitches are getting mislabeled as fastballs - presumably, those are cutters.) But if the 101 is accurate, then it's harder than any regular season pitch he threw in 2024.
— Alex Speier (@alexspeier.bsky.social) March 5, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Devers delayed
Rafael Devers was not put in the lineup for Wednesday’s spring training game against the Tampa Bay Rays as Boston’s third baseman continues to deal with soreness in both of his shoulders, which he dealt with last season.
In the first weeks of camp, Devers focused on strengthening the shoulders in preparation for the season. Alex Cora wasn't sure when the three-time All-Star would play, but it might not be until this weekend.
“We’ll see where we are over the weekend, but timing-wise, he’s off. I’m not worried about him,” Cora told reporters.
The Red Sox are still trying to figure out if Devers will play third base. Cora has yet to make a decision on the matter, but Devers made it clear early in spring training that he does not want to move positions.
“Third base is my position," he said.
It still seems likely he'll open at third base while Alex Bregman, a former Gold Glove third baseman, would move to second. But Bregman did play third on Wednesday.
“The decisions that are going to be made here about roster construction and about what we’re going to do in the future, we’re going to make sure we have the best team possible out there,” Cora said. ”(Devers) has a lot of pride. We know that. He feels like he’s a third baseman. He’s going to work out as a third baseman and then we’ll make decisions accordingly.
“I think here it’s not about Bregman or Devers or Cora. It’s about the Red Sox.”
For a time, it seemed possible that top prospect Kristian Campbell could complicate the situation as it appears second base is his best avenue to make the roster. But he's mostly played left field in recent days and has one hit in 17 spring training at-bats so far.
“There's a few things that he still needs to work on, but he has range, and the double play is getting better,” said Cora.
Bello’s Back?
Brayan Bello pitched his first bullpen on Friday since returning from shoulder soreness. In this bullpen session, the Red Sox didn’t want Bello pitching “100%.”
“They told me to stay within 80-90 mph,” Bello told MLB.com. “So just a very light session.”
Last year’s Opening Day starter is optimistic that he will return in time to make this year’s roster for the opener.
“The trainers are telling me that I’m right on track as long as I just keep doing my work that I’ve been doing,” Bello said. “The body’s good. The shoulders are good. The mechanics are good.”
There is still uncertainty whether Bello will be ready by March 27th. Cora named two pitchers that could possibly step into the rotation if Bello isn’t ready.
The first is Quinn Priester. Drafted in 2019 by the Pittsburgh Pirates, Priester was traded to the Red Sox in last year’s trade deadline for top prospect Nick Yorke. On Tuesday, Preister made a spring training start against his former squad allowing one run in 2.2 innings. The other option for the Red Sox is Richard Fitts, who was traded for Alex Verdugo in December of 2023 and made starts for Boston at the end of the 2024 season.
Cora plans on using both righties in the same game sometime in the next few days.
Buehler’s Debut
Red Sox top free agent-signee, Walker Buehler, made his spring training debut on Sunday. In two scoreless innings against the Mets, Buehler allowed one hit, no walks, and struck out four.
Bueheler, who signed a one-year contract with Boston for $21 million, is looking to regain his form after tearing his UCL in 2022 and missing the entire 2023 MLB season.
“He’s excited about the opportunity to come to a new organization and lead,” Cora told reporters. “I’m very happy that he bet on himself, and he bet on us this year.”
“I think there’s a lot of really good building blocks here, and guys that have shown they can do it at the big-league level,” Buehler said on NESN. “And as of now, it’s one year. And hopefully it’s a few more after that.”
