What Cooper Criswell brings to the Red Sox in 2024
When the Red Sox signed right-hander pitcher Cooper Criswell, the move was met with criticism from the fan base. Criswell was the club’s first free agent signing this offseason, inking the hurler to a one-year, $1 million pact.
Boston is going to have Criswell prepare as a starter this spring to build more depth within the upper part of the system.
The soft-tossing righty is excited to join the Sox’ organization and he has been impressed by both chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and pitching coach Andrew Bailey.
“I loved what they both (Breslow and pitching coach Andrew Bailey) had to say,” Criswell said at Red Sox Winter Weekend.
What does Criswell bring to the table the Red Sox really like?
Boston likes the movement of two pitches within his repertoire, his sinker and sweeper.
“I really think they like my arsenal of the movement of the sinker and sweeper. And then focusing in on that cutter. And then the changeup has improved, too, the past two years. So I think just really focusing in on that cutter. Me and Bails (Bailey) have been doing a little throwing program Driveline-wise, trying to gain a little velo here and there. So if I could be able to do that, that would be awesome.”
His sweeper has been by far his most effective pitch, despite the limited sample size at the big-league level. He threw 154 sweepers last year, holding opponents to a .211 batting average (8-for-38) and .166 expected batting average, per Baseball Savant.
“I would consider a sweeper one of my best pitches, for sure,” Criswell said. “I feel comfortable throwing any of those, especially the three — sinker/slider/changeup — any pitch, any count. I’m getting the confidence in the cutter just as much as the other three pitches.”
Criswell began to throw a cutter in-game last season.
“So just messing around with grips and stuff,” he said. “Bails has been awesome with that. Just helping me on grips. I actually threw a bullpen yesterday and really liked the results that we’ve been getting on the cutter.”
The 27-year-old made 10 appearances as a long reliever, tossing 33 innings with a 5.73 ERA. Last season, while in the minors, Criswell pitched to a 3.93 ERA in 84 2/3 frames.
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