Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Sonny Gray won't be among the team's first group of starters in Spring Training.
Manager Alex Cora explained the decision on Friday morning.
"Sonny is in the veteran program," Cora told reporters, including Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald. "For him, yeah, he likes pitching on the big field but he doesn’t mind throwing on the back fields, so it’s a work in progress, his schedule, but he’ll get his reps and he’ll be ready."
Gray and fellow newcomer Ranger Suarez are joining holdovers Garrett Crochet and Brayan Bello as the front four in Boston's loaded rotation.
Connelly Early, Johan Oviedo, Kutter Crawford, Patrick Sandoval and Payton Tolle are among the likely contenders for the fifth and final spot in the starting five.
Crawford missed the entire 2025 season due to a wrist injury and Sandoval was out all of last year after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
It was reported recently that the former could open the 2026 campaign on the injured list.
Tolle, Bello, Early, Suarez, Oviedo and Crochet are lined up to start in the Red Sox's first six Grapefruit League contests from Saturday to Thursday, respectively.
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