The Boston Red Sox appear to have an opening at the end of their starting rotation, as Garrett Crochet, Sonny Gray, Ranger Suarez and Brayan Bello are essentially locked in as the first four players in the group.
Connelly Early, Johan Oviedo, Kutter Crawford, Patrick Sandoval and Payton Tolle are among the most likely candidates for the fifth spot and on Friday, Cora revealed his thoughts on using a sixth starter.
"Roster construction is always important, that’s the key, especially early in the season, understanding in this case the vast majority of the guys that are competing have options. Not everyone can be in the big leagues, we’re not going to a six-man rotation, I can tell you that right now," the 50-year-old told reporters, including Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald. "We just have to be patient and what we decide is for the benefit of the team early on. ... There’s going to be guys pitching in Triple-A who are going to be hungry and ready for whenever we call their name to come to the big leagues."
Both Crawford and Sandoval missed the entire 2025 season due to injury, while Early and Tolle made their big-league debuts late in the campaign.
Oviedo was acquired in a December trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates and had the most starting experience of the quintet last season, finishing 2-1 with a 3.57 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 42 strikeouts across 40 1/3 innings pitched covering nine starts.
Tolle is scheduled to start the team's Grapefruit League opener on Saturday against the Minnesota Twins.
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