The Boston Red Sox have agreed to a one-year contract with right-handed pitcher Kutter Crawford for the 2026 season, avoiding arbitration. Crawford, who missed all of 2025 due to injuries, will earn $2.75 million. Now healthy, he faces competition for a rotation spot.
The Boston Red Sox finalized a one-year deal with right-hander Kutter Crawford on Tuesday, sidestepping the arbitration process ahead of Thursday's deadline for exchanging salary figures. A source confirmed to MLB.com that Crawford's base salary remains at $2.75 million for 2026, matching his 2025 pay despite not pitching that year.
Crawford, 29, endured a challenging 2025 season marred by injuries. He began on the 15-day injured list with right patellar tendinopathy, a knee issue that originated during spring training the previous year. Transferred to the 60-day injured list on May 15, he showed progress toward a minor-league rehab assignment by late June. However, a right wrist injury sustained during home maintenance derailed his return, leading to season-ending surgery on July 2 to reconstruct the stabilizing sheath of the extensor carpi ulnaris (ECU) in his wrist.
Reflecting on the setbacks last August 15, Crawford told reporters: “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. 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.”
His 2024 campaign offered brighter moments, as he led the Red Sox with 33 starts and 183 2/3 innings pitched, though he posted a 4.36 ERA and surrendered an MLB-high 34 home runs. Crawford had pitched through knee discomfort from his third start onward, which contributed to reduced velocity late in the season.
Drafted by Boston in the 16th round of the 2017 First-Year Player Draft, Crawford has a career 4.56 ERA over 392 1/3 innings in 86 major-league games (69 starts) from 2021 to 2025, all with the Red Sox, striking out 389 batters.
Fully recovered, Crawford now competes in a deep rotation featuring Garrett Crochet, Sonny Gray, Brayan Bello, and Johan Oviedo in the top four spots. The fifth-starter battle includes Patrick Sandoval, Payton Tolle, Connelly Early, Kyle Harrison, and Crawford. The agreement leaves four arbitration-eligible players: Tanner Houck (recovering from Tommy John surgery), Oviedo, infielder Romy Gonzalez, and first baseman Triston Casas.
