Garrett Crochet: Everything you need to know

Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said Thursday that Crochet (shoulder) resumed playing catch from 60 feet and is making progress with his strength program, but the southpaw is unlikely to return from the 15-day injured list when first eligible next Tuesday, Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald reports. "We're still strengthening, we're still throwing and we're increasing intensity as he goes," Tracy said of Crochet. "So we're just going to continue that track until we feel the strength numbers are where they're supposed to be, he feels good and he can ramp up more." Shortly after being placed on the IL on April 29 due to left shoulder inflammation, Crochet indicated that he wouldn't be shut down from throwing and expressed confidence that he would be ready to return from the shelf in the minimum 15 days. While Crochet hasn't run into any setbacks since then, the Red Sox are taking a cautious approach in building their staff ace back up from the injury. Tracy didn't rule out the possibility of Crochet requiring a rehab assignment prior to being activated, though if Crochet is able to progress to throwing off a mound and facing hitters within the next week or two, he probably won't need to head to a minor-league affiliate before rejoining the Boston rotation.

Crochet (shoulder) was able to play catch Sunday for the first time since landing on the injured list Wednesday, Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reports. The Red Sox plan to continue proceeding cautiously with Crochet while he works his way through left shoulder inflammation, but the club is optimistic that it caught the injury early enough and shut the lefty down before it became a greater concern. For his part, Crochet believes that he'll be ready to return from the IL when first eligible May 12, but the two-time All-Star still has a few more checkpoints to hit in the recovery process before the Red Sox pencil him back into the rotation.

Crochet underwent an MRI on his left shoulder that came back clean Friday, and he'll be shut down from throwing for a few days while he focuses on rebuilding strength, Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald reports. The left-hander landed on the injured Wednesday with left shoulder inflammation, and the MRI indicates that is indeed the full extent of the injury. After being placed on the shelf, Crochet indicated Wednesday he should be able to be activated after the 15-day minimum. A quick return like that should remain plausible as long as he's not shut down from throwing for more than a few days.