CLEARWATER, Fla. -- If it turned out Josh Winckowski wasn’t able to pitch Thursday against the Phillies, he would’ve had about as ironclad a reason as there is. And the Red Sox wouldn’t have been able to do anything about it.

That situation almost came to pass when Winckowski was called by Lee County for jury duty in Fort Myers earlier this week. While the Red Sox train there in spring, Winckowski is a 12-year resident of the city. This was his first jury duty call.

It just happened to arrive as he’s battling for a spot in the Red Sox's rotation.

“One of the questions [they asked] was occupation, and would this trial be a hardship?” Winckowski said. “I said, 'I’m actually in the middle of Spring Training, so …'”

The court eventually dismissed Winckowski on those grounds, but he was among the final 40 out of 300 potential jurors before he was sent home.

“I don’t really like using [the MLB player] card,” Winckowski said. “But I really can’t miss too many days [of camp].”

Freed from his civic obligation, Winckowski rejoined the Red Sox to start in their 6-1 loss to the Phillies at BayCare Park. After dazzling in his spring outings to date, Winckowski took some lumps while allowing six runs (five earned) in 3 2/3 innings in his latest bid for one of the club’s two open rotation spots.

“I’m still really positive about everything and feel good in general,” Winckowski said. “This was the first rough one of the spring, and it’s going to happen. I still like where I’m at generally.”

The Red Sox opened camp with their top four rotation spots established in Brayan Bello, Lucas Giolito, Nick Pivetta and Kutter Crawford, with Garrett Whitlock, Tanner Houck and Winckowski set to battle for the fifth spot. Then Giolito underwent season-ending elbow surgery, and Cooper Criswell pitched himself into the mix with a strong camp.

Now it appears it’ll be two of Whitlock, Houck, Winckowski or Criswell in those final spots. Before Thursday, it was Winckowski who’d pitched the best of that group this spring.

The Red Sox expect the competition to go down to the wire.

“They’ve all thrown the ball extremely well,” manager Alex Cora said. “We have to make sure we have the right group. It’s not about one guy being the fourth or fifth starter. It’s about the whole group. We need multiple-inning [relievers]. We’ve talked about having weapons out of the bullpen. Winckowski last year, Whitlock in 2021. They can do that. But I think this year, we will make a decision. If you’re going to the bullpen, you’re going to the bullpen. I do believe the days of having the hybrid guys -- are you a starter, or a reliever? -- I think we’re past that.

“Somebody will start game number four. Somebody will start game number five, and we’ll go from there.”

The key factor might be innings, given how Giolito was expected to be a workhorse. Boston starters only made 52 starts of at least six innings last season, the fifth-fewest in the Majors.

“Do the math,” Cora said. “Five times five. Twenty-five innings out of one turn [of the rotation]. That’s what it takes now, at least. That’s where we’re at as an industry, as I see it. If you go four, [the next guy] better go six … We need our group to give us at least 25, every turn.”

So, who has the edge? All four candidates bring different strengths and weaknesses to the table, and all have experience both starting and relieving.

Winckowski was one of the team’s top relievers a year ago. He struggled as a starter in 2022 and is working this spring to incorporate a sweeper into his five-pitch mix. His spring ERA ballooned from 1.17 to 4.76 across 11 1/3 innings after Thursday.

“I think having a good slider/sweeper will be a big part of me being in the rotation and staying in the rotation,” Winckowski said. “It’s important I get it figured out, so I work on it a lot on days like today and live with what happens.”

Houck is the most experienced starter of the group, with 41 career starts. His 106 innings last year also led the group, and he’s been dazzling this spring (1.59 ERA,12 strikeouts in 11 1/3 innings). Three of his four spring appearances have been in multi-inning relief.

Whitlock’s been substantially more effective out of the bullpen (2.65 ERA) than as a starter (4.76 ERA) in his career and only logged 71 2/3 innings last year. His spring ERA is 4.76 across 11 1/3 innings. He starts Friday and could get one more after that.

Criswell only has 12 games of big league experience but has primarily been a starter in the Minors, including last year at Triple-A in the Rays organization. He’s been solid all spring, pitching to a 3.48 ERA and 5.0 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 10 1/3 innings.

He, Winckowski and Houck could get as many as two more starts each before Boston breaks camp.