Craig Breslow has made it a point to revamp the Boston Red Sox’s pitching staff in his short tenure with the team, so far. The reinforcements are serving them well even before the 2025 season begins.
Red Sox starting pitchers Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford and Lucas Giolito will begin the upcoming campaign on the injured list. Luckily, their injuries are not severe and Boston expects Bello and Giolito to debut early in the season and Crawford to return sometime in the first half, but it still needs backup arms in the meantime.
Richard Fitts, Sean Newcomb and Quinn Priester have been floated as potential depth starter options for early in the season, but another minor league arm could also step up to the job. Longtime Tigers pitcher Michael Fulmer signed a two-year minor league contract with the Red Sox in Feb. 2024, and the Red Sox could consider him as another spot starter.
The Sox on March 21 sent Fulmer down to minor league camp, first reported by Rob Bradford of WEEI. He does not have an opt-out in his contract, so Fulmer will begin his season in Triple-A alongside many of Boston’s other bullpen depth options, such as Luis Guerrero and Josh Winckowski.
Fulmer didn’t pitch in 2024 because he underwent UCL surgery after the 2023 season, which he spent with the Cubs. The righty is now fully recovered and he’s posted a stellar spring training on the mound for the Red Sox.
Michael Fulmer’s spring training showing warrants consideration for a roster spot with Red Sox
Fulmer has clocked a 0.79 ERA with 12 strikeouts and three walks in 11.1 innings. He’s only appeared in a small sample size of games, but his strikeout total could be proof enough for Boston to use him as a depth starter or in the bullpen.
The righty’s career began as a starter with the Tigers and he eventually transitioned into a relief role beginning in 2021. The last season during which he exclusively started was 2020 and he posted an 8.78 ERA over 27.2 innings of work in sort of an “opener” role. Fulmer last made a start on July 22, 2023, and he let up one run on three hits over two innings.
Fulmer hasn’t started a game in the traditional sense in quite a few years, but the Red Sox could consider using him in their rotation until their injured starters are healthy due to the amount of MLB experience he has relative to the team’s other depth picks. They could also use him as a long reliever, which may be better suited to his recent MLB roles. No matter where they may decide to use him, Fulmer’s great spring training performance warrants consideration for a call-up, if necessary.
