BOSTON – In 2024, Kutter Crawford led the Red Sox in starts and innings, which has made this completely lost ‘25 season all the more difficult for the righty to endure.
First, there was the right knee injury that plagued him from Spring Training and kept him on the injured list through the first couple of months of the season.
When Crawford was just about over that, a right wrist injury suffered off the field ended any hope of him pitching for the Red Sox this season.
For the first time since undergoing surgery on July 2, Crawford was at Fenway Park on Friday.
“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,” Crawford said. “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.”
How did the wrist injury happen?
“Just doing some pretty standard maintenance around the house,” Crawford said. “Outside, kind of moving some stuff. When I went to move something, it got hung up and it turned my wrist the other way, and I kind of felt a subtle pop. At that point I was like, ‘Oh, no, that's not great.’
“I texted my trainer at the time and I was supposed to throw a live BP the next day. And obviously, we pushed that back a little bit. And I tried to continue throwing throughout, and I wasn't able to kind of get to where I needed to be.”
Crawford acknowledged it might be time to find someone to do his home maintenance for him.
“You get an investment, you try to take care of your investment and it bit me in the [butt]. I’m starting to make some contacts. I need a sponsorship,” Crawford quipped.
DId Crawford know right away he was in trouble when the accident happened?
“When it happened, I had kind of that gut instinct [something was wrong],” Crawford said. “I kind of felt a pop, and I could still squeeze my fist and everything. But when I tried to move a certain way, my body didn't like it. And then at that point, that's when I texted Joel, one of the trainers down there, I said, ‘We might need to look at my wrist.'"
What is the exact injury?
“The subsheath,” Crawford said. “So it’s the subsheath that holds the tendon in place. I basically tore the subsheath, therefore my tendon if I moved it a certain way, my tendon wasn't moving over underneath my bone.”
The prognosis roughly six weeks removed from surgery is good. Crawford believes he can ignite a normal offseason throwing program by October and be ready for the start of Spring Training.
And the knee is a lot better.
“I will say my knee feels better than it has in probably three or four years,” Crawford said. “So I’m very optimistic about that. And hopefully, we'll have no issues next year with that.”
When Spring Training started, the Red Sox were so deep in the rotation that Crawford was sixth on the depth chart. Through the attrition of the season, Crawford’s presence could have helped fortify the Red Sox down the stretch as they eye their first playoff appearance since 2021.
Instead, Crawford can only cheer on his teammates.
“I came up here to be around the team and, and hopefully be a really good cheerleader,” Crawford said. “And when we're making that push in October, I'd love to come up here and be a cheerleader for that, too. Anything to help pull my weight, so to speak.”