Crawford is working on a split-finger fastball that he feels would complement his existing repertoire, Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe reports. "All my stuff is moving glove side, away from righties and into lefties. The splitter would open up the other side of the plate," Crawford said.

EDGE Analysis

Crawford, who was projected as a rotation lock earlier last week by Abraham, got a thumbs-up Saturday from starting catcher Connor Wong, who served as a batter during the pitcher's live BP session. "As a catcher, I see a lot. But the perspective as a hitter is different because you get a real feel for the breaking pitches," Wong said. "Kutter brings so much to the table and it's getting better." The right-hander opened the 2023 season as part of the rotation, then moved to the bullpen before rejoining the starters in early June. Crawford had a 4.20 ERA (3.64 FIP) over 21 starts while limiting opponents to a .226 batting average and .679 OPS after re-entering the rotation.