Rivalry renewed: Comparing Yankees, Red Sox rotations after big offseason additions
By Austin Owens
For many years the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees have been considered one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports. Over the past few seasons, the Red Sox have not been as competitive which resulted in fiery interactions with these two ball clubs coming to a halt.
As each team heads into the 2025 with a clean slate and new looks, it appears that this rivalry very well could be coming back to life this season in a competitive AL East division. Of course the Baltimore Orioles will be in the mix as well but it is the starting rotation of both the Yankees and Red Sox that is expected to carry these teams.
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Comparing the rotations of Boston and New York
Both of the Boston Red Sox biggest offseason acquisitions are starting pitchers. Boston was able to sign free agent Walker Buehler and land left-hander Garret Crochet in a trade with the Chicago White Sox. This gives the Red Sox all of the following starters on their current roster: Garret Crochet, Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford, Brayan Bello, Garrett Whitlock, Walker Buehler, Lucas Giolito and Patrick Sandoval.
It is likely that Buehler, Crochet and Sandoval will lead the charge for the Red Sox starting staff. For their careers, this trio has combined for 75 wins and an ERA of 3.52. Having Lucas Giolito — who has All-Star potential — as a possible No. 4 starter shows how deep this rotation is. Crochet and Buehler bring Unfortunately for the Red Sox, the Yankees rotation may be even better.
The Yankees now have the following starting pitchers on their active roster: Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Marcus Stroman, Max Fried, Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt. Cole, Rodon and Fried are likely to be the "Big 3" in the Bronx. This trio has a combined 301 wins and an ERA of 3.37. But with Stroman, Gil and perhaps Schmidt making up the rest of the rotation, there are very few easy days for opposing offenses.
These statistical comparisons may seem lopsided, but the Yankees starting core is more experienced than that of the Red Sox rotation. However, for the Yankees staff to be as consistent as they have been for this long, the upper hand has to go to the guys in pinstripes.