After the Red Sox sent Kutter Crawford down to Triple-A Worcester, manager Alex Cora confidently predicted the right-hander would return to the big leagues at some point in the 2023 season.
As it turns out, Crawford's time away from Boston was limited to a mere two days.
Roughly 48 hours after the Red Sox demoted Crawford to make a roster spot for Garrett Whitlock, the 27-year-old was called back up to replace Zack Kelly. Kelly, who went down in scary fashion Wednesday night in Tampa Bay, was officially placed on the 15-day injured list due to right elbow inflammation Thursday morning.
Crawford turned in a sharp outing for the Red Sox days before he was shipped to Worcester. He allowed only one run on five hits with six strikeouts over five innings Sunday when Boston completed a three-game road sweep of the Detroit Tigers.
It remains to be seen how the Red Sox will use Crawford now that Whitlock is back in the rotation. Comments from Cora on Tuesday suggested the club wants to keep Crawford stretched out as a starter, but that potential plan could be compromised by the anticipated return of Brayan Bello.
Corey Kluber will be on the mound for the Red Sox on Thursday afternoon when the visitors try to hand the red-hot Rays their first loss of the season. NESN's full coverage of the series finale begins at noon ET.
