Bothersome knee injury might delay Crawford's start to season
Ian Browne
@IanMBrowneFORT MYERS, Fla. ¨C It turns out that Kutter Crawford, the most durable starting pitcher for the Red Sox last season, was dealing with discomfort in the patellar tendon in his right knee from his third start on.
However, the issue hasn¡¯t gone away and Crawford¡¯s status for the start of the season is iffy.
¡°That's not really in my hands,¡± said Crawford. ¡°It's kind of whatever process they want to do in the training room. But, yeah, I can¡¯t really speak on that.¡±
While the righty threw a bullpen session on Friday, manager Alex Cora said it wasn¡¯t at full intensity, and that Crawford is behind the other pitchers.
Crawford was confident a full winter of rest and rehab would cure what ailed him, but he had a setback in the offseason.
¡°Yeah, it's something that I kind of dealt with last year, I just kind of flew through it,¡± said Crawford. ¡°I did something [to it] this offseason. I had a couple hiccups within the rehab progression of it all. I¡¯m just a little behind. The strength just isn't there where we want it to be. And, yeah, just a little behind, kind of taking it day by day.¡±
Crawford was Boston¡¯s hottest pitcher to start the ¡¯23 season, posting a 0.66 ERA in his first four starts. But as the knee issue lingered, Crawford¡¯s performance took a dip, and so did his velocity.
Despite it all, Crawford led his team in starts (33), innings (183 2/3) and strikeouts (175). He also gave up the most homers (34) in the Majors.
¡°That¡¯s kind of what I take pride in and that time, they needed me every fifth day,¡± said Crawford. ¡°I'm gonna grab the ball every fifth day and give you everything I got. So, yeah, I do take pride in it but I also at the same time, it took a toll on my body.¡±
Crawford injured himself covering first base at Fenway Park on April 10 against the Orioles.
¡°My third start of the season, I covered first base and as soon as I hit the base, something happened,¡± Crawford said. ¡°I just couldn't put a whole lot of weight on it. As you could tell, my velo was declining a little bit.¡±
While Crawford hopes to avoid surgery, he acknowledged the situation will continue to be monitored.
¡°Oh, it's too early for anything like that,¡± said Crawford. ¡°I think we've got to get the strength up first in that knee and then kind of go from there. If I still have pain and discomfort, then we¡¯ll probably reassess the situation. But, kind of just right now, day by day, just trying to build the strength in it. ¡°
While Crawford was a middle-of-the-rotation pitcher for the Sox last year, the team added Garrett Crochet and Walker Buehler to the mix this season and have Lucas Giolito healthy again. If everyone is healthy, Crawford probably ranks sixth on the depth chart. There is a chance the Red Sox will go with a six-man rotation to open the season. Crawford has been effective as a reliever in the past if there isn¡¯t room for him in the rotation.
¡°I feel like it's always competition, right? If you don't have competition, then people aren¡¯t getting better, so it¡¯s always competition within the group,¡± Crawford said. ¡°And, yeah, I think that makes everybody better.¡±
Crawford realizes he needs to get his knee right again before being consumed with where he slots into the rotation.
¡°I definitely don't want to be in this spot right now,¡± said Crawford. ¡°Going through the offseason, I put in a lot of work. I feel like I got in pretty good shape overall, but the knee was just something that was just dragging behind. Like I said, I had a couple hiccups. I was doing some strength testing and the knee did not agree with it, and it kind of just set me back a little bit.¡±
Just how much of a setback? That remains to be seen.