MLB Notebook: Red Sox name Garrett Crochet Opening Day starter, Richard Fitts a lock for the rotation

The Red Sox officially named their Opening Day starter.

Alex Cora announced on Saturday that left-hander Garrett Crochet will start the season opener on the road when the Red Sox take on the Rangers from Globe Life Park.

It’s not exactly shocking that Crochet got the nod. When Boston acquired him on Dec. 11 for four prospects, that included catcher Kyle Teel and outfielder Braden Montgomery, it was with the idea the southpaw would be the club’s future ace.

“The stuff is big. There’s a reason we got him here,” Cora said to reporters in Fort Myers.

“We envision him as a true No. 1. To be determined, right? But where we are at as an organization and what he represents, it will be good for him to make the first pitch of the season.”

Crochet becomes the fourth Opening Day starter for the Red Sox in the last four years.

Brayan Bello took the ball to open the season in Seattle in 2024. Then there was Corey Kluber, who shockingly was named the Opening Day starter in 2023. Current Rangers ace Nathan Eovaldi opened the season on the hill for the Sox in 2022. Ironically, Eovaldi will be Texas’ Opening Day starter to oppose Crochet.

This will be the second time Crochet will have the honor of being an Opening Day starter. He was the White Sox opener last season against the Tigers. He allowed one run off five hits over six frames while striking out eight in a 1-0 pitcher’s duel loss to Tarik Skubal.

“This year, I definitely really had to earn it,” Crochet said. “Some really good arms on the staff. I’m excited.”

Cora considered All-Star Tanner Houck for the opportunity. The right-hander told his skipper that he was happy taking the mound whenever he was ultimately asked. Houck will pitch Game 2 of the season with Walker Buehler starting the series finale with the Rangers.

After a few seasons of bouncing back and forth between the rotation and the bullpen, Houck took a massive leap, cementing himself as a top rotation arm for Boston. The righty was a strong candidate outside of Crochet for Opening Day. He made a career-high 30 starts and pitched 178 innings, also a career high.

The rest of Cora’s rotation is unknown, due to the injuries to Brayan Bello (right shoulder inflammation), Kutter Crawford (right knee), and Lucas Giolito (left hamstring), all starting the season on the injured list.

RICHARD FITTS SHOULD BE A LOCK 

Richard Fitts has made a case to break camp with the team. He had another strong spring outing on Friday, where he tossed 4 1/3 scoreless innings and allowed just one hit while walking nobody and striking out four against the Marlins.

“What I saw yesterday was great,” Cora said after Fitts’ start. “Stuff was great; strike throwing was good. You gotta throw strikes. We have to throw strikes. Sean did it, too, against the Mets, a really good lineup. Just keep pounding the strike zone; get people out. But I think it’s more about strike throwing for me."

Cora noted that Fitts’ stuff looks better than last season. The righty has allowed just one run in 10 2/3 innings this spring. He’s given up seven hits and four walks while striking out 13.

“Velo’s up,” Cora said. “He was pitching at 96, 97 yesterday. He was very efficient. He was able to move the ball around and change speeds. He was efficient. He had to finish in the bullpen yesterday. That’s always a good sign in spring training. Right now he’s been impressive. He did an amazing job in the offseason. He and his wife, they were in Boston since the first week of January. And just put the work in the weight room. Working with the pitching group, he’s put himself in a great position.”

Since Fitts was acquired from the Yankees in the four-player trade that sent Alex Verdugo to the Bronx, he has flourished under the Red Sox pitching development program. Over the course of 2024, Fitts worked on developing his slider by pounding it into the zone for strikes and working deeper into games.

WooSox skipper Chad Tracy talked a lot about Fitts being coachable last season, offering feedback, and implementing the changes his coaches wanted to see. All of that led to the offseason, where the Sox asked Fitts to work on adding a curveball to play off his other off-speed weapons and fastball.

The Red Sox want Fitts to miss more bats with consistency at the big league level. He hit 99 mph in a start this spring against the Phillies, and if he can hold that kind of velocity over the course of the season, he will induce more of that swing-and-miss stuff.

PRIESTER ‘FRUSTRATED’ FOLLOWING START

Quinn Priester is the other starter likely to win a spot on the Opening Day roster.

The righty started for the Sox on Saturday afternoon and wasn’t sharp, struggling to pitch in the zone. This came on the heels of Cora telling him, Fitts, and other candidates Cooper Criswell, Michael Fulmer, and Sean Newcomb how important it is to throw strikes.

Priester threw 62 pitches, 38 for strikes, allowing three runs, all of them earned, off six hits with three walks and four strikeouts over 2 2/3 innings.

“Frustrated,” Priester said after the game. “Need to be better. There’s no better way to say that. I think the breaking balls saved me from giving up more. But ultimately I need to be better with the fastballs, and I think a lot of those runs come off the board. I think (if) we execute fastballs, we throw them better, those balls down the line turn into foul balls, and then we can keep him honest with some stuff.

”It just needs to get better, and we will," Priester added. “We still got some starts left, and we’re going to keep putting one foot in front of the other and ultimately get ready to compete.”

His rough outing on Saturday shouldn’t disqualify him from making the Opening Day roster. Young pitchers struggle at times with their command. If Priester is going to see success at the big league level and stick around with the Red Sox, he will need to locate his fastball.

“It’s so hard to say. I think ultimately right now emotions are high, frustration’s high,” Priester said. “So I can think a million different things about what went wrong or what could have been wrong. Could the sinker not sink? Could the sinker not do exactly what it normally does? Did the cutter stay a little arm-side from time to time? Sure. But that’s going to happen in every start.

“I think for me right now it’s let this emotion fuel this next work week,” he said. “But ultimately, once it calms down, get a more realistic feel for exactly what happened. And then, like I said, get back after it tomorrow and start getting ready for the next one.”

NEWCOMB IS AN INTERESTING CANDIDATE

When the Sox signed Newcomb to a minor league deal, it was with the idea that he would be left-handed pitching depth down in Worcester. With just under two weeks before the start of the season, Newcomb is a candidate to win a job in the rotation.

The Brockton, Mass., native has been turning some heads, recording a 1.35 ERA in 6 2/3 innings with five strikeouts.

“It was cool. It’s been a long time coming,” Newcomb said to reporters about being with the Red Sox back on Feb. 26. “Something I’ve dreamt about.”

Newcomb winning a spot on the Opening Day roster would be a surprise and equally great story. His emergence this spring has given the Red Sox an experienced lefty they can send to Worcester and remain stretched out as a starter in their rotation.

THE 'SANDMAN' IMPRESSIVE IN FUTURES GAME

Red Sox pitching prospect David Sandlin was selected for the Spring Breakout roster this week, but he didn’t see game action on Thursday night. Instead, the Sox had the young hurler start for Boston in a seven-inning Futures at Fenway South game on Friday afternoon.

The 24-year-old pitched 2 2/3 innings, giving up two runs off two hits while walking two and striking out seven. His fastball clocked in at 99 mph and sat in the mid-90s.

“It felt good,” he said to reporters following the game. “Still obviously stuff to clean up there at the end. Just working on some stuff, still out there trying to treat it like spring training, but it felt good. Felt like the cutter and the slider were working really good paired with the fastball. So just have to work on the curveball and the splitter now.”

Sandlin boasts one of the best fastballs in the Sox’ system, topping out at 99 mph in-game. He hit 100 mph in winter workouts and continues to offer consistent velocity in the upper 90s. 

He is a proud member of the Fuego club. Pitchers who hit 100 mph get a T-shirt from Red Sox director of pitching Justin Willard. The shirt reads, “I throw fuego.”

Sandlin was 0-4 with a 5.34 ERA in 18 starts for High A Greenville and Double A Portland last season. He had 82 strikeouts in 57⅓ innings. He expects to begin the season with the Portland Sea Dogs along with fellow Spring Breakout roster teammate Connelly Early, who pitched Thursday night.

The Oklahoma native has been like a sponge this spring, embracing the energy around camp and soaking in the feedback from conversations he’s had with fellow big leaguers.

“Around camp has been great, and the culture trickling down from the big league side even to the minor league side has been contagious,” said Sandlin on the atmosphere in Fort Myers this spring to Boston Sports Journal. “There is a buzz in the building that it’s going to be an exciting year.

Sandlin said he hasn’t had a chance to meet Walker Buehler or chat with Garrett Crochet, but he’s gotten to have conversations with Tanner Houck, Garrett Whitlock, Michael Fulmer, Zack Kelly, and Richard Fitts.

“Just talking to those guys and realizing they are players and easygoing guys like the rest of us is super cool to see,” added Sandlin. “Especially hearing how they simplify the game and help reminding me that it’s a privilege to be in the position I’m in, as well as taking time to enjoy the process rather than trying to speed through the levels, has been a huge help.”

SPRING BREAKOUT NOTES

Boston saw four pitchers whose fastball velocities touched between 95 and 100 mph between the Spring Breakout game and the Futures at Fenway South:

Juan Valera: 97-100 mph

Brandon Clarke: 97-99 mph

Hunter Dobbins: 95-99 mph

David Sandlin: 95-99 mph

Valera had an impressive 2024 campaign where he posted a 1.99 ERA and struck out 68 batters in 18 games. The 18-year-old split time between two levels and was one of Boston’s best relievers in the system.

In addition to his explosive fastball, he offers a slider that keeps opposing hitters off balance. Valera has a changeup that he is still developing that tops out in the high 80s. The 6-foot-3, big-bodied hurler looks like he could be a power bullpen arm but will be given a chance to see what he can do as a starter.

HEARTFELT TRIBUTE

Even though Chris Sale no longer wears a Red Sox uniform, that didn't stop the left-hander from taking a moment to recognize the late Luis Tiant.

Sale, who started for the Braves against the Sox on Saturday afternoon, emulated Tiant’s signature twisting wind-up.

The southpaw brought his glove and the ball up over his head, and as he began to turn, he cocked his head back towards center field before he turned back to the plate to fire his first pitch to Red Sox leadoff man, Jarren Duran.

The NESN broadcast didn’t immediately notice Sale’s tribute, only noting Duran’s reaction, almost thinking he was joking around with his former teammate.

Tiant passed away at the end of the 2024 regular season at the age of 83. He was a 19-year veteran, spending eight seasons with the Red Sox. He won 229 games while also pitching to a 3.30 ERA. The three-time All-Star won double-digit games 13 times in his career while also winning 20 or more games in four separate big league seasons.