Red Sox pitcher likely out for the season after off-field ‘accident’

The depth of the Red Sox will continue to be tested.

Starting pitcher Kutter Crawford will have what is “likely” season-ending wrist surgery after an off-field “accident,” manager Alex Cora told reporters Wednesday.

Cora said the injury was not caused by doing anything “irresponsible.” 

“He’s down. It’s been a tough year for him,” Cora said before Boston took on the Angels in Anaheim. “From spring training to getting ready to this, it happened and now surgery. It hasn’t been a great year for him.”

Crawford was already on the 60-day injured list due to a right knee injury, which he played through during the entire 2024 season.

While Crawford expected he would be ready for this year, he suffered a setback in the winter. But now, it looks like his entire 2025 is in peril.

Last season, Crawford went 9-16 with a 4.36 ERA, but what the right-hander importantly brought to the Red Sox’s rotation was reliability. 

He made 33 starts, which was tied for the most in the American League, all while tallying 183⅔ innings.

Without Crawford, the Red Sox starters have a 4.29 ERA this season, ranking 22nd in MLB.

The 29-year-old Crawford is far from the only player the Red Sox have lost this season.

Slugging first baseman Tristan Casas, while running to first base, ruptured his left patellar tendon in May.

On top of that, Alex Bregman will not return until the All-Star break with a right quad issue, while outfielder Masataka Yoshida has been out all season after undergoing labrum surgery in his right shoulder in the offseason and getting shut down in spring training.

Then, earlier this month, the Red Sox traded away superstar Rafael Devers to the Giants in a polarizing move. 

Through all of the injuries and the blockbuster trade, the Red Sox are sitting at 40-41 heading into Wednesday’s game, though top prospects Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer are now being given a chance as the team looks to right the ship.