The Red Sox are exploring all avenues when it comes to strengthening their rotation. After trading for White Sox ace Garrett Crochet, Boston is still looking into both the trade and free markets for starting pitching. Not only that, but it sounds like they might be considering at least one creative internal option, too.
Speaking to reporters at the Winter Meetings, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow suggested Michael Fulmer could potentially start for the Red Sox in 2025 (per Chris Cotillo of MassLive). Why is that surprising? The veteran right-hander, who is recovering from UCL surgery, has not pitched since 2023. More to the point, he has not been a regular starter since the 2020 season. He has not thrown more than five innings in an outing since September 2018.
Fulmer, 32 in March, was a sturdy starting pitcher over his first three MLB seasons. He won AL Rookie of the Year honors with the Tigers in 2016 and earned an All-Star selection the following year. Overall, from 2016-18, he made 75 starts, tossing 456 innings with a 3.81 ERA and 4.32 SIERA. Unfortunately, a history of elbow issues came to a head in 2019, when Tommy John surgery forced him to miss the entire season. When he returned in 2020, he was utterly disastrous. His velocity was down, and he pitched to an 8.78 ERA and 5.58 SIERA over 10 starts. It was hardly surprising when Detroit moved him to the bullpen in 2021.
On the bright side, Fulmer was an effective, if not especially dominant, reliever from 2021-23. Over 172 appearances out of the bullpen with the Tigers, Twins, and Cubs, he pitched to a 3.43 ERA and 3.71 SIERA, racking up 19 saves and 45 holds. Never a big strikeout arm during his years as a starter, he struck out more than a quarter of the batters he faced in relief. That said, his most important skill was his ability to limit hard contact and home runs.
At the end of the 2023 season, his elbow trouble reared its ugly head once more. Fulmer underwent UCL revision surgery in October that would keep him on the shelf for at least a year. He then signed a two-year minor league contract with the Red Sox and spent the 2024 season rehabbing with the organization. Until recently, there had been very little news regarding his progress. In October, he told WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford (X link) that he was trending toward a return for spring training. Then, earlier this week, Breslow provided a similarly positive update, “There’s certainly a pretty clear path to [Fulmler] being ready for Opening Day.”
If Fulmer is healthy and ready to pitch this spring, the Red Sox will try to stretch him out. That could mean building him up for a role in the rotation. However, if that proves to be too ambitious, he could be a multi-inning arm out of the bullpen instead. Interestingly, that’s a role he has never really played before. As a former starter, he presumably has the skills for long relief. Yet, when he was a regular reliever from 2021-23, Fulmer threw 175 2/3 frames over 172 appearances. That’s an average of just over one inning per game. Even so, the Red Sox have faith in Fulmer to take on some sort of bulk role. Breslow suggested that’s why they targetted him in the first place, saying “He’s a guy we actually signed with an eye on — once he’s completely healthy — building him out, whether that’s as a starting pitcher or someone who can handle bulk, leverage innings.”
Cotillo notes that Fulmer will earn $1.5MM if he is on Boston’s roster in 2025. He can also earn another $500K in incentives.
As things stand, the Red Sox have four seeming locks for their Opening Day rotation: Crochet, Tanner Houck, Brayan Bello, and Kutter Crawford. Barring a setback in his recovery from internal brace surgery, Lucas Giolito will also join the rotation at some point in the year. However, it’s not yet clear if he’ll be ready by the beginning of the year. Behind those five on the depth chart are Richard Fitts, who has just four MLB starts under his belt, and Cooper Criswell, who was solid but not especially impressive over 99 1/3 innings in 2024. Thus, it’s not hard to see why the Red Sox remain active in their pursuit of pitching, whether it be a more significant addition or a depth move. Transitioning Fulmer to the rotation falls into the latter category. He is unlikely to be a particularly impactful arm – that would explain why no other team selected him in the Rule 5 draft– but there’s no such thing as too much pitching depth.
