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Boston Red Sox Roster: A Way Too Early Look At 2027 Starting Rotation

Zach Coe · Roundtable Sports

Sat, Oct 24, 2026 ·

8 min read

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RedSoxRoundtable's Zach Coe previews the state of the Red Sox rotation heading into the offseason. Be sure to join our FREE community over on RedSoxRoundtable.com!

After missing out on all of the free-agent bats last offseason, the Boston Red Sox shifted gears to building a team centered around strong pitching and defense, signing free-agent starter Ranger Suarez to a five-year, $130-million deal. As a result, the Red Sox had one of the best pitching staffs in baseball, posting a 3.54 ERA, the third-lowest mark in baseball.

As the Red Sox look to build a World Series contender for 2027, many of those same pitching pieces will be in place. With just one week to go until the offseason begins, here's way too early look at the Red Sox rotation:

Free Agents departing

The Red Sox only have three pending free agents ; however, two of those players expected to hit the open market are starters. After posting a 5.12 ERA in 17 appearances in the final year of the two-year, $18.5-million deal signed with Boston ahead of the 2025 season, left-handed starter Patrick Sandoval will hit the open market.

Then there's veteran starter Sonny Gray, who announced he won't retire and will return to the mound in 2027. However, the 36-year-old is widely expected to decline his $30 million mutual option with the Red Sox, collect his $10 million buyout, and hit the open market.

Rotation locks

Garrett Crochet

The 2025 American League Cy Young Award runner-up, Crochet, made only six regular-season starts in 2026 before landing on the injured list with left shoulder inflammation and a LAT strain. The 27-year-old had a rough go in those six starts, posting a 6.30 ERA before going down with the injury.

Crochet returned for one relief appearance in the Red Sox's season-ending loss to the New York Yankees in Game 2 of the Wild Card series, allowing four earned runs on three hits without recording an out. However, Crochet entered the offseason healthy and is expected to return to the top of the Boston rotation and be one of the sport's best pitchers in 2027.

Ranger Suarez

The 30-year-old left-hander had a solid first season in Boston. Suarez posted a 3.22 ERA in 28 starts, earning the second All-Star nod of his nine-year career. As expected, Suarez spent time on the injured list with minor ailments here and there, but was otherwise an incredibly reliable, consistent piece of the Boston rotation. After signing him in part for his fantastic postseason resume, Suarez didn't see any action in the Wild Card round after being lined up to start Game 3, which, of course, wasn't needed.

Suarez will head into the 2027 season as the No. 2 or No. 3 arm in the Boston rotation alongside Crochet and Payton Tolle.

Payton Tolle

One of baseball's most electric young arms , the 23-year-old is coming off one of the best rookie seasons for a Red Sox pitcher in recent memory. After being recalled from Triple-A Worcester on April 23 Tolle was among the best pitchers in baseball, ranking in the top 15 among 47 qualified starters in ERA (3.03, 11th), strikeouts per nine (10.35, 11th), walks per nine (2.42, 15th), WHIP (1.10, 12th), home runs per nine (0.91, T-13th), FIP (3.04, 8th) and fWAR (4.1, T-7th).

Tolle will enter his first full big-league season with high expectations to continue his ascent to one of the sport's best pitchers, forming one of the sport's best 1-2 punches alongside Crochet.

Near locks

Jake Bennett

After being acquired in an offseason deal with the Washington Nationals in exchange for pitching prospect Luis Perales, the 25-year-old Bennett became a major piece of the Red Sox rotation after Crochet went down with an injury. In 20 appearances (19 starts), Bennett posted a 3.65 ERA, the ninth-lowest among rookie starters with at least 100 innings pitched.

While Bennett doesn't blow hitters away with the same electric stuff that Tolle features, he has pinpoint control that led to a 1.67 walks per nine innings, which was comfortably the lowest among rookie starters (min. 100 IP) and the third lowest among 141 pitchers with at least 100 innings of work.

Barring Gray resigning in Boston or an offseason move to replace the veteran, Bennett should enter 2027 as a near certainty to be the Red Sox' fourth or fifth starter.

Battle for the fifth starter

Brayan Bello

The 27-year-old right-hander had an odd season in 2026. Bello struggled mightily in his first six starts, posting a league-high 9.12 ERA before the team used him behind an opener. After seeing success in a bulk relief role, the team decided to give Bello a traditional start, where he struggled again, prompting them to option him to Triple-A .

After spending a little over a month in Worcester, Bello returned to Boston and turned his season around, posting a 2.11 ERA in 14 appearances, primarily as a bulk reliever. As the Boston rotation got taxed at the end of the season, the team shifted Bello back to a traditional starter role, where he performed well, allowing only one earned run on 13 hits over three starts.

After signing a six-year, $55-million extension ahead of the 2024 season, Boston will undoubtedly like Bello to claim the fifth starter spot for 2027. After his strong showing to end the season, he'll likely be in the driver's seat entering spring training.

Tanner Houck

After missing much of the regular season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, Houck returned to the big-league mound to start the final game of the regular season against the Chicago Cubs .

It was a rough go of things for Houck before going down with the injury in 2025, as he posted an 8.09 ERA in 43.2 innings, including two blow-up starts in which he allowed 11 earned runs in 2.1 innings. During his brief 2025 season, Houck ranked among the bottom two out of 86 qualified pitchers in baseball in ERA (86th), home runs allowed per nine innings (2.06, 85th), opponent batting average (.315, 86th), and fWAR (-0.4, 86th).

May 7, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Tanner Houck (89) pitches against the Texas Rangers during the third inning at Fenway Park. Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

However, the 30-year-old right-hander has shown All-Star upside, posting a 3.12 ERA over 178.2 innings, earning the first All-Star selection of his career in 2024.

While he may be better suited to a bullpen role or as starting depth in Triple-A heading into the season, a strong performance in the spring could make things interesting at the back end of the rotation.

Johan Oviedo

After being acquired alongside reliever Tyler Samaniego and catching prospect Adonys Guzman in an offseason deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia, Oviedo has become somewhat of a forgotten man in the Red Sox' crowded pitching landscape. He made only one regular-season appearance on March 30 against the Houston Astros , allowing four earned runs on six hits in 3.2 innings of relief. During the outing, Oviedo's fastball averaged only 93 mph, down 2.5 mph from its 2025 average, leading the team to place him on the injured list on April 3 and schedule a visit with Dr. Keith Meister, who performed his 2023 Tommy John surgery.

Oviedo made one rehab appearance with Worcester in the final weeks of the minor league regular season, allowing one earned run on two hits with four strikeouts and one walk over 2.1 innings.

Given both the prospect capital surrendered to acquire him and the low cost of his estimated arbitration figure , it seems like a safe bet that he'll return to Boston in 2027 in either a bullpen or rotation depth capacity.

Kutter Crawford

After a litany of injuries, it's been two years since the 30-year-old took the mound in the big leagues. Crawford began a rehab assignment in April, but elbow inflammation forced the team to shut him down . He was scheduled to make a rehab appearance with Triple-A Worcester on the final day of the Triple-A regular season; however, inclement weather canceled the game, and it was not rescheduled. The last time Crawford took the mound in the majors, he served as the workhorse of the Boston staff, throwing a team-high 183.2 innings in 2024.

While he certainly cannot be relied on after missing two full seasons, Crawford should provide much-needed pitching depth, whether in a bullpen role or in Triple-A Worcester, where he can stay on a starter's workload.

Regardless of how the back end of the rotation plays out by the time the season rolls around, the trio of Crochet, Tolle and Suarez figure to have the Red Sox back at the top of the league with one of the best rotations in baseball.

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