The 2025 Boston Red Sox once had heaps of pitching depth that had been run through by the season's end. Starters like Richard Fitts, Hunter Dobbins, Lucas Giolito and Dustin May were all placed on the injured list at some point this season and unavailable by the playoffs.
Boston's many injuries left Garrett Crochet, Brayan Bello and 23-year-old top prospect Connelly Early, who had made just four prior starts in the major leagues, to lead the charge in a push to the World Series. Crochet shoved, as expected, Alex Cora clearly didn't trust Bello to go deep into Game 2, and Early was let down by the Red Sox's shoddy defense.