Early-Career Struggles Serving These Red Sox Well In 2023

There wasn't a whole lot of "fun" going on in the Red Sox clubhouse throughout the 2022 season.

Boston saw almost everything go wrong throughout the season, with injuries serving as a driving force behind its disappointing follow-up to a 2021 American League Championship Series appearance. The pitching staff, in particular, was hit hard by the injury bug -- which prompted early and ineffective arrivals of the Red Sox's young arms.

Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford and Josh Winckowski all struggled in their rookie season, prompting questions about their collective future in Boston. In a half season since, all three of those players have made those questions look silly while fueling a different feeling for the Red Sox, despite a similar spot in the AL East standings.

"A lot different feeling than last year at this point," Red Sox manager Alex Cora told Chris Cotillo of MassLive. "That weekend in New York was awful. Chris (Sale) with the line drive, Nate (Eovaldi) coming back and he wasn't himself, playing with (rookies), not performing. We were very young. Stuff-wise, really good, but then a stretch when we were playing Tampa and New York (13) times. It wasn't easy.

"This year, although it has been hard, we've been able to survive because Bello and Crawford and (Winckowski), they learned a lot last year and that experience helped them to pitch at this level. It's not that we weren't prepared for it last year but actually, they were kids playing in the best division in baseball."

"It's not that we weren't prepared for it last year but actually, they were kids playing in the best division in baseball."

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Alex Cora on the 2022 Boston Red Sox

The 2023 season hasn't been much different on the injury front. Chris Sale, James Paxton, Garrett Whitlock and Tanner Houck have all spent significant time on the injured list, prompting those very same pitchers to step into similar roles to that of 2022. Bello and Crawford are making starts every fifth day, while Winckowski has been relied upon heavily out of the bullpen.

The results? A bit different.

Brayan Bello
2022: 2-8 record (13 appearances; 57 1/3 innings), 4.71 ERA, 1.779 WHIP, 55 Ks, 27 BBs
2023: 7-5 record (15 appearances; 86), 3.14 ERA, 1.198 WHIP, 75 Ks, 22 BBs
Kutter Crawford
2022: 3-6 record (21 appearances; 77 1/3 innings), 5.47 ERA, 1.422 WHIP, 77 Ks, 29 BBs
2023: 4-4 record (18 appearances; 67 1/3), 3.74 ERA, 1.129 WHIP, 67 Ks, 17 BBs
Josh Winckowski
2022: 5-7 record (15 appearances; 70 1/3 innings), 5.89 ERA, 1.592 WHIP, 44 Ks, 27 BBs
2023: 3-1 record (32 appearances; 51 2/3), 3.14 ERA, 1.355 WHIP, 40 Ks, 16 BBs

That improved production from young players doesn't solely fall onto the pitching staff, as the Red Sox have seen Jarren Duran, Connor Wong and Triston Casas all take leaps forward. Their collective improvements have rewarded Boston for sticking with them through their struggles.

"It has been fun to watch these guys step up," Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom told Cotillo. "The last couple years have shown us it's not always linear. Guys can take a step forward and they may stumble. We've generally been rewarded for giving these guys opportunities here and they've paid us back for sticking with them."

In looking back at how all of the players mentioned performed in 2022, you can see how ridiculous the reactions to their first seasons were. It's almost as if Major League Baseball is hard and takes a while to figure out.