When the Red Sox began the 2025 season, they were quite pleased with themselves for having done something this year that they’d failed to do in 2024, a season that saw a promising first half fizzle down the stretch: They built up depth in the starting rotation.
They’d acquired an ace, Garrett Crochet. They had Brayan Bello back, were welcoming Lucas Giolito and hoping to a return to form from him. They signed Walker Buehler, expecting a bounce-back from him. The back end had Richard Fitts, Hunter Dobbins and Quinn Priester. And in the middle were two young guys the franchise has hoped will be future stalwarts, Tanner Houck and Kutter Crawford.
But depth is a tenuous things, especially among modern MLB pitchers. A lot went sideways for the Boston staff, sometimes due to dumb bad luck. That was certainly the case for Crawford.
Kutter Crawford Led MLB in Starts in 2024
Crawford started the season rehabbing a knee injury, after a 2024 season in which he showed promise but unraveled a bit at the end. Crawford led MLB in starts with 33 last year, but also led the league with 16 losses and 34 homers allowed.
The knee injury held him out of the beginning of the season, but was supposed to be resolved by the All-Star break. However, a new injury cropped up, and it was something of a mystery: Crawford injured his wrist. Manager Alex Cora announced in late June that Crawford would have surgery on the wrist, ending his season.
But the team never revealed what, exactly, happened to Crawford’s wrist, given that he was supposed to be dealing with an injured knee.
Red Sox Lost Out to Home Maintenance
On Friday, Crawford was back at Fenway Park and finally explained what happened. The injury is all too relatable for any DIY homeowner, which makes it additionally frustrating for the Red Sox.
“Just doing some pretty standard maintenance around the house,” Crawford said, via MassLive. “I was outside moving some stuff, I went to move something and it got hung up and turned my wrist the other way. I felt a subtle pop.
“When it happened, I had that gut instinct. I kind of felt a pop. I could still squeeze my fist and everything but when I tried to move a certain way, my body didn’t like it.”
Crawford admitted that maybe he should hire someone to help with home repairs.
“You get an investment, you try to take care of your investment and it bit me in the [butt]. I’m starting to make some contacts. I need a sponsorship,” Crawford said, via MLB.com.
Red Sox Getting Crawford Back in 2026
Too late now, of course. Crawford has had the surgery and 2025 is done with, but he expects to be back in 2026.
“It’s been tough. I was really close to starting the rehab assignment before I had this incident with the wrist the day before my last live BP,” Crawford said. “It’s been difficult. It’s been frustrating. But I’m just trying to do everything I can to just prepare and get my body and my mind in the best spot possible for when I do take the mound again.”
Red Sox Starter Breaks Silence on Mysterious Season-Ending Injury