Heartbreaking: Boston suffered two setbacks in its attempt to reignite the rivalry with the Yankees.
The Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees rivalry, which is frequently regarded as the best in baseball and all sports, has mostly stagnated since 2021. The two bitter rivals didn’t play a game that was truly important until that year. However, Boston suffered two setbacks in its attempt to reignite the rivalry with the Yankees, the reigning American League champions, as the Red Sox concluded what pundits referred to as a “Grade A” offseason.
Manager Alex Cora said that two key Red Sox pitchers are still dealing with ailments that might jeopardize their availability for Opening Day, which Boston celebrates this season on March 27 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. The Texas Rangers, the 2023 World Series champions, will play the Red Sox.
With 92 games played between them, the Red Sox and Yankees tied for the American League Wild Card playoff place in 2021. Additionally, it was the last season in which each league had only two Wild Card clubs. After that, the clubs would compete fiercely in a single-game playoff to determine who would get to the Division Series.
The Red Sox won home field advantage in the one-game playoffs by defeating the Yankees 10-9 in the regular season series. They then went on to defeat the Yankees 6-2, hitting Yankees star Gerrit Cole for three runs in his opening two innings in front of a boisterous Fenway Park crowd.
Red Sox Offseason Prepares to Rekindle Rivalry
However, Boston club president Sam Kennedy has stated that the objective in 2025 is to surpass the Yankees and win the AL East, not only to qualify for the Wild Card playoffs. In order to do that, the Red Sox made three significant additions during what Ben Clemens, an analyst for Fangraphs, described as “a brilliant offseason.”
In order to increase rotation depth, the Red Sox signed Walker Buehler, a World Series mound hero for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and traded for Chicago White Sox ace lefty Garrett Crochet to head the starting rotation. The Red Sox reconstruction was completed this week with the signing of free agent infielder Alex Bregman on the first day of spring training camp.
To compete with the Yankees or, ideally, pass them in the AL East, the Boston team will require more than just three guys. Their 40-man roster’s full depth will be required. But Cora admitted on Friday that two of his starting pitchers, 28-year-old Kutter Crawford and 25-year-old Brayan Bello, are still behind schedule in their recuperations due to ailments.
Crawford started to experience right patellar tendon soreness toward the end of the 2024 season, but he pitched despite the injury, according to Cora. Crawford fought through a 9-16 season, giving up a league-high 34 home runs while, notably, leading the Majors (in a tie with six other pitchers) by making 33 starts.
Key Pitchers’ Injury Setbacks Are Concerning
That indicates that right-handed Crawford suffered from stiffness in the knee he utilizes to push off the rubber when throwing a pitch, which is undoubtedly a challenging issue for any pitcher.
Cora informed the reporters on Friday that Kutter was lagging a little. He is behind in his throwing program since it has persisted throughout the winter. He is now lagging behind everyone else, but I’m not sure what that will imply in, say, a month or a month and a half from now.
