It’s now been since April 25th when Boston Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet was last able to take the mound. Now, through several setbacks, it’s unclear when he will be able to get back on the field for the Red Sox again, but he’s still making some good progress.
Speaking to MassLive, Crochet shared that he’s still working with a plyo ball right now, but is hoping to move on to throwing with a real baseball soon.
“I hope to have a ball — a real baseball — in my hand here soon,“ Crochet said. ”The plyos that I’m doing, though, are not far off. I’m throwing seven ounces, so it’s not like I’m afraid to get close to baseball weight. It’s moreso just the protocol. Just still just throwing plyos, doing a lot of (isometric) work. When the team was on the road and I stayed back, I made some good headway. Been trending up for a while. I think that let setback is making us be extra cautious this time, naturally. Just in that situation where it’s like, wait until you feel great, then wait a couple more days.”
It had been a difficult season, all things considered, for Crochet when he was on the mound. In 6 starts, he has a 6.30 ERA and 11.1 strikeouts per nine. A season ago, he had a 2.59 ERA in 32 starts.
Of course, those struggles could be related to the injury. Crochet initially went down with left shoulder inflammation. That injury would later be upgraded during his recovery and he was added to the 60-day injured list with a lat strain.
“When one thing gets weak, something else takes over and that’s kinda what we were doing when the team was on the road, just trying to get out of the compensation as much as possible,” Crochet said. “I’ve never had crazy strength numbers when doing testing with the training stuff. For me, it’s moreso just that I operate really well within certain limits and when I fall out of those ranges, my mechanics get off and things start to compensate. Then, that weakness is exploited.”
Boston Red Sox SP Garrett Crochet Didn’t Want to Set a Timeline
GettyBoston Red Sox SP Garrett Crochet
There has been some criticism of how the Boston Red Sox have handled injuries of late. In particular, publicly downplaying how long a player, like Garrett Crochet, might be out before they have setbacks.
It was likely with that in mind when Crochet explained that he has a timeline in his head to return to play, but that he doesn’t want to share that just now.
“I have target dates I won’t share,” Crochet said. “I have target dates in my mind but I don’t know what the team’s target date is. I just want to get back as soon as I can.”
It’s already been a long time for the Red Sox without Crochet. To put it in perspective, Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal was injured, had elbow surgery, and has returned to pitching all in the time that Crochet has been out. On top of that, he’s never pitched in a game managed by interim Red Sox manager Chad Tracy.
“Disappointing,” Crochet said. “It’s not like I was throwing the ball great, so to go on the IL on top of that kinda sucks. When I initially went on the IL, it was like, ‘Well this is an (expletive) feeling. I was throwing the ball well, then I had a good one and started to feel like I’m making ground (up). Then go on the IL.”
There is a Silver Lining for Crochet
GettyBoston Red Sox SP Garrett Crochet
The 2026 season clearly didn’t go the way the Red Sox or Garrett Crochet wanted it to go. Still, as he works his way back from injury, there is some silver lining for Crochet to take from this entire experience.
“You try to find the bright side in it,” Crochet said. “For me, this is a good chance to get my mechanics in a good spot. I think I was still just kinda dealing with a little bit of a hangover from the previous year. Just formed some bad habits once the fatigue hit, and even in the offseason. I took some time off but then because of the (World Baseball Classic), we’re getting ready for spring a little earlier. I took more time off, but that made the ramp-up have to be quicker. Just things I hope to learn from.”
The Red Sox find themselves in a difficult position now. Because the American League is struggling on the whole, the Red Sox aren’t actually out of the Wild Card race yet, but at 35-46, they look like a team that is going to need to sell at the Trade Deadline.
Without Crochet, turning the season around seems very difficult, but if he can come back and be effective, then the Red Sox may have some reason to hope.
Red Sox SP Garrett Crochet Shared the Latest on His Recovery in an Injury Update