Red Sox Eliminate Hurler From Rotation Competition As Roster Plans Come Into Focus

Boston made the right choice for both the player and organization

Scott Neville | Mar 18, 2024

Red Sox Eliminate Hurler From Rotation Competition As Roster Plans Come Into Focus /

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Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox are less than two weeks away from Opening Day, leaving manager Alex Cora with limited time to set his rotation to begin the 2024 season.

Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow talked heavily in the offseason about adding to the rotation this winter but failed to do so, leaving the organization with an open competition to fill a few holes.

Brayan Bello, Nick Pivetta and Kutter Crawford can be penciled into the top three spots. The final two came down to a battle between Garrett Whitlock, Tanner Houck, Josh Winckowski and newly acquired swingman Cooper Criswell.

We can now rule one of the aforementioned hurlers out of the running, as Cora informed Winckowski that he will return to the bullpen this season according to the MassLive's Christopher Smith -- a role in which he thrived last season.

Winckowski posted a 2.88 ERA with an 82-to-31 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .267 batting average against and a 1.42 WHIP in 84 1/3 innings last season across 59 relief outings and one start.

The 25-year-old's 3.91 FIP implies that he might have been roughed up in a larger capacity, leaving a multi-inning reliever role as the logical ceiling for Winckowski.

That leaves two spots for three starters, though it's pretty easy to determine how it will play out. Whitlock and Houck are almost guaranteed to win the remaining big-league jobs.

Criswell has a slim chance to be moved into the bullpen as a long reliever but more than likely will begin the year with Triple-A Worcester as a starter, awaiting an opportunity as the next man up.

More MLB: Rays Sign Potential Red Sox Free Agent Target To Bolster Rotation Ahead Of Opening Day

Published Mar 18, 2024

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu