There were a number of key reasons behind the Boston Red Sox and their appearance in the American League playoffs last season. Those reasons included the health of shortstop Trevor Story and his ability to produce key hits while playing solid defense throughout the majority of the season, the leadership of third baseman Alex Bregman and the dominance of closer Aroldis Chapman. However, the primary reason was the brilliance of No. 1 starter Garrett Crochet .

Manager Alex Bregman knew that when he gave the ball to Crochet the big left-handed pitcher would give him a Cy Young-worthy performance. He had a remarkable 18-5 record with a 2.59 earned run average and a major-league leading 255 strikeouts in 205.1 innings . He is competing with Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers for the 2025

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