Red Sox confirm starter for Opening Day 2025

The Boston Red Sox have been one of the most active teams this offseason, revamping their roster ahead of an important 2025 campaign. After narrowly missing out on a postseason berth last year, the front office aggressively worked to fill a number of their weaknesses, including their offense, bullpen, and starting rotation.

Through a series of free agent signings and trades, the Boston Red Sox added a number of significant pieces this offseason, including Alex Bregman, Aroldis Chapman, Walker Buehler, and Garrett Crochet. Crochet was one of the top prizes of the winter as a number of teams were seeking his services in a trade with the Chicago White Sox, however it was Boston who landed the breakout flamethrower.

Not only will Garrett Crochet lead the team's rotation this season as their ace but he has officially been named as Boston's Opening Day starter. After converting to a full-time starting pitcher last season, Crochet proved to be one of the most dominant strikeout artists in baseball. Over 146.0 innings of work last year, Crochet posted a 3.58 ERA with a whopping 209 strikeouts, earning the first All-Star selection of his career.

Garrett Crochet's first official start for Boston will come on March 27th when they make their way to Arlington for a showdown with the Texas Rangers. It will be a tough first test for the team's new ace given the potency of the Rangers lineup with stars such as Marcus Semien and Corey Seager.

According to MLB insider Peter Abraham, Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora has also announced that the team's top 3 starting pitchers in the rotation are set with Garrett Crochet, Tanner Houck, and Walker Buehler. The final two spots in the rotation will be up for grabs between Cooper Criswell, Richard Fitts, Sean Newcomb, and Quinn Priester.

The Boston Red Sox's pitching staff has been hit by the injury bug as the regular season rapidly approaches

Boston has retooled their roster this offseason in the hopes of returning to the postseason for the first time since 2021. Despite an improved roster and pitching rotation, the club is already dealing with some tough luck in terms of health. Pitchers Lucas Giolito, Kutter Crawford, and Brayan Bello will be unavailable until at least a couple of weeks as they recover from their own injuries.

After missing all of last season after undergoing an internal brace procedure due to a UCL injury, Giolito made his first start of Spring Training on Tuesday before exiting with a hamstring strain. Giolito signed a two-year, $38,500,000 deal with the Red Sox before the 2024 season but has yet to appear in a regular season game for the club.