Pedro Martinez Wishes For These Red Sox Pitchers As 'Possible 1-2' For AL Cy Young
Boston Red Sox legend Pedro Martinez won three Cy Young awards during his Hall of Fame career, including back-to-back honors for the American League in 1999 and 2000.
Martinez nearly earned a fourth Cy Young in 2002 when he finished as the AL runner-up to then-Oakland Athletics southpaw Barry Zito.
Petey’s teammate, two-time All-Star Derek Lowe, was third in the voting that season after going 21-8 with a 2.58 ERA and 0.97 WHIP.
Martinez talked about the Red Sox’s stacked starting rotation heading into the 2026 campaign and said he’d like to see ace Garrett Crochet and newcomer Ranger Suarez finish as the top two AL Cy Young vote-getters.
“Suarez is a guy that I’m hoping he stays healthy for an entire year, and hopefully we’ll see possible 1-2 for the (AL) Cy Young on the same team like me and Derek Lowe (almost) did one time,” the 54-year-old said, per MLB.com’s Ian Browne. “He’s a true pitcher. I just need to see him healthy.”
Suarez was Boston’s biggest offseason free agent signing, inking a five-year, $130 million deal with the Red Sox in January.
Crochet had a huge debut season in Beantown last year, finishing 18-5 with a 2.59 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 255 strikeouts across 205 1/3 innings pitched.
The two-time All-Star finished as the AL Cy Young award runner-up to Detroit Tigers stud Tarik Skubal.
“There’s a guy that you can build a team around, and hopefully that’s what (chief baseball officer Craig) Breslow and the rest of the organization will do — build a team around a true ace and the rest of the staff can actually feed off what he does, how he does it, and how committed he is and how respectful he is about his job,” Martinez said of Crochet, according to Browne. “I think he’s probably got better stuff (than I did) when it comes to velo and stamina. He’s very consistent in staying right above 97 and 98 (miles per hour). And a beautiful body to look at. You don’t have to worry. He proved to everybody that all he needed was just to get a year under his belt, to get totally healthy, and he’s been able to work his way around everything he needs to do, and he looks relatively fresh every time he pitches. That’s amazing to see.”
Crochet and Suarez are joined by three-time All-Star Sonny Gray and returning right-hander Brayan Bello at the top of Boston’s 2026 starting rotation, with the fifth and final spot in the group still up in the air.
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