Have the Red Sox Done Enough To Address Their Rotation for 2026?
Should Boston keep looking for starting pitchers, even after bringing in Sonny Gray and Johan Oviedo?
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For all the attention paid to the Boston Red Sox’s pursuit of a middle-of-the-order bat, their attempts to supplement the rotation behind ace Garrett Crochet have flown somewhat under the radar.
The need for a true number two starter was a point of emphasis headed into the offseason, with chief baseball officer Craig Breslow going so far as to declare it a priority at the GM meetings in November.
“Because of the depth that we’ve built up over the last couple of years, we feel pretty good about overall starting pitching and Nos. 3-ish through 10-ish, and that’s not to take away from guys who are certainly capable of doing more,” said Breslow. “It’s just to say, I don’t think we’re going to spend a ton of time trying to add a No. 4 or a No. 5 starter. If we’re going to make a starting pitching addition, I think it should be somebody who can pitch at the front of a rotation and start a playoff game for us.”
Just two weeks after these comments, the Red Sox struck for their first major move of the winter, acquiring veteran right-hander Sonny Gray from the St. Louis Cardinals for depth starter Richard Fitts and pitching prospect Brandon Clarke.
Though not the flashiest addition, the 36-year-old Gray has been one of the most consistent and reliable pitchers in baseball this decade. Along with Tarik Skubal, Gray is one of only two pitchers to pitch at least 150 innings and walk fewer than 40 batters in each of the last three seasons.
Gray may not have the high-octane fastball usually associated with frontline arms, but he has struck out at least 200 batters in both of the past two seasons, and his 3.39 Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) was the sixth-lowest mark in the National League last season.
While the acquisition of Gray was clearly a high-floor play, Boston’s subsequent trade for Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Johan Oviedo was all about upside. Like so many pitchers acquired in the Breslow era, the 6-foot-6-inch Oviedo is an imposing figure on the mound, and his 98th-percentile extension helps his mid-90s fastball play up even more.
As much as Breslow loves pitchers who look like left tackles, he also loves guys coming off Tommy John surgery. Oviedo missed all of 2024 and the first half of 2025 after undergoing the procedure, and though he posted a solid 3.57 ERA in a nine-game return at the end of the season, his 5.1 BB/9 indicates that his command was still a work in progress.
The Red Sox are banking on Oviedo taking another step forward in his second season post-operation. Though there is certainly room for Oviedo to grow into something more, his 2023 performance (32 GS, 4.31 ERA, 2.2 bWAR) provides a solid baseline for a healthy first season in Boston.
Looking at this rotation as a whole, it’s clear that the Red Sox possess two enviable traits. Not only do they have a true ace in Crochet, who has proved he can handle a massive workload and deliver in the postseason, but they also possess as much pitching depth as any team in baseball.
The additions of Gray and Oviedo, coupled with the returns from injury of Kutter Crawford and Patrick Sandoval, will add four more arms to a rotation that finished 12th in MLB in ERA in 2025. Of course, much of last year’s better-than-average ERA was thanks to the prowess of Crochet, but the Red Sox also benefited from a strong season from Brayan Bello, who finished ninth in the American League with a 3.35 ERA.
At the minor league level, the Red Sox received similar leaps from left-handed prospects Payton Tolle and Connelly Early.
The former rode his blazing fastball all the way from High-A Greenville to a September call-up, while the latter was so impressive in his four late-season starts that he earned the nod in Game 3 of the Wild Card Series.
Both pitchers will enter spring training competing for a rotation spot, though a return to Triple-A Worcester is a distinct possibility, considering they have thrown a combined 43.2 MLB innings.
The wild card in the Red Sox rotation mix is 24-year-old left-hander Kyle Harrison.
Acquired from the San Francisco Giants in the Rafael Devers trade, the former top prospect spent most of the summer in Worcester rebuilding his repertoire around his dynamic fastball. Though he only ended up making two starts, his six innings of one-run ball on September 20 against the Tampa Bay Rays helped the Red Sox secure a postseason berth.
If you are keeping track at home, that is nine different pitchers with varying degrees of MLB success competing for just five rotation spots, and that’s even after trading Hunter Dobbins and Richard Fitts to the Cardinals. Despite the old adage that you can never have enough pitching, there is a legitimate argument that the Red Sox could turn some of that depth into another top-of-the-rotation arm.
As good as Gray has been over the last three years, he will be entering his age-36 season and has displayed a precipitous drop in velocity. Bello’s below-average strikeout and walk numbers indicate he may be better suited for the back of the rotation than the front, and while Tolle and Early may one day become No. 2 starters, it is unrealistic to bank on them to carry the freight in their first full MLB season.
While the Red Sox haven’t been linked to any of the top free agent starters, their reported interest in potential trade candidates indicates that they may still be looking for opportunities to raise the ceiling of their rotation.
The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon reported that the Red Sox were one of the teams in on Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Freddy Peralta, while The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier indicated that they could turn their attention to Kansas City Royals southpaw Cole Ragans.
Whether it be those two arms or another available starting pitcher on the market, there is a clear pathway for the Red Sox to continue to reinforce their rotation. While their farm system isn’t as strong as it has been in recent years, their combination of MLB-ready outfielders and starting pitching depth can allow them to create intriguing packages for both rebuilding and contending teams.
None of this is to say that adding another starting pitcher should take priority over acquiring another bat. Per FanGraphs, the Red Sox rank just 21st in baseball with 21.8 projected position player WAR for 2026, while their 17.0 projected starting rotation WAR is tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the highest mark in baseball.
The Red Sox’s rotation is in a good spot headed into next season, but that shouldn’t prevent them from looking for opportunities to improve. The reigning American League champion Toronto Blue Jays certainly haven’t rested on their laurels, retaining trade deadline acquisition Shane Bieber and adding Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce in free agency.
The New York Yankees, meanwhile, haven’t added anybody in free agency but will get a significant boost from the return of former Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole from Tommy John surgery.
Adding Gray and Oviedo has undoubtedly raised the floor of Boston’s rotation, but it may take another needle-moving addition for the Red Sox to keep pace with their American League East rivals.
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Daniel Fox is a contributing writer for Just Baseball. He has previously written for Pitcher List, BoSoxInjection, and in the Cape Cod Baseball League. He is…