Kutter Crawford Begins Road Back To Red Sox With Mixed Outing

[Nick John]

It's been a long road back to Boston for Kutter Crawford. This past Saturday, for the first time in 560 days, the 29-year-old right-hander took the mound in a professional baseball game. Crawford, who was a stalwart in the Red Sox's rotation in 2024, missed the entire 2025 season after first dealing with knee issues and then a torn tendon sheath in his right wrist that later required surgery.

Pitching in a professional game for the first time since late 2024, there was some obvious rust. Crawford had some good moments and some not so great moments as he pitched three complete innings. He allowed six hits (three home runs), five earned runs, one walk and five strikeouts. Overall, he threw 60 pitches, 43 for strikes, while his fastball topped out at 93.1 mph.

Noticeably, his pitch sequencing was slightly different than the last time he took the mound. Wherein 2024 he used a five-pitch mix consisting of his four-seam fastball, cutter, sweeper, splitter and curveball, Crawford did not toss a single sweeper this time out. More than rust, this may have been due to the fact he rarely uses the pitch against left-handed batters, and the Columbus Clippers’ lineup was filled with them on this particular night.

Instead, he led with his fastball that averaged 91.4 mph during the outing. Along with the fastball being used 33% of the time, he gave a pretty even split to his splitter, cutter, and curveball. His cutter looked the least game-ready, as he allowed three hard-hits off it, including a home run. Hence how the average exit velocity off of the pitch sat at 107.4 mph.

On the other hand, his knuckle curve and splitter were arguably best pitches of the night, as they both generated three whiffs apiece along with two strikeouts each. Keeping that up would be a huge development for his efficiency against left-handed batters.

The first inning was a nightmare for Crawford, as he opened the frame with back-to-back strikeouts before allowing a single to Travis Bazzana followed up by a two-run home run to Nolan Jones. That, in turn, was followed by a solo shot by Kahlil Watson and a single from Kody Huff before Crawford finally got out of the inning.

His second inning went much better, allowing just a walk to Juan Benjamin. Unfortunately, the third inning spelled more trouble, as Bazzana singled once more before Watson hit his second home run of the day to make it 5-0. Crawford finished strong, getting the next two batters out, including a strikeout of the final batter he faced.

Most importantly, the right-hander will need to build up his stamina as his velocity dropped on all his pitches each inning with the exception of his cutter. Credit Crawford for battling against a lineup filled with left-handed batters (eight of the nine starters batted from the left side of the plate), but it's clear that he's still a ways off from being ready to return to the majors.

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