Red Sox Announce Surprise Garrett Crochet Decision Before Yankees Playoff Series

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The Red Sox reportedly made a surprise Garrett Crochet decision before their playoff matchup against the Yankees.

Boston Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet is back — at least for one series. Boston has named the left-hander to its Wild Card Series roster against the Yankees, even though Crochet has not thrown a major league pitch since April 25.

Multiple reporters covering the club confirmed Crochet’s addition Tuesday morning, about 10 hours before Game 1 at Yankee Stadium, where Boston and New York open a rematch of last October’s American League Wild Card series.

Manager Chad Tracy spent days hedging on Crochet’s readiness before all but confirming Monday that Tuesday would bring an answer. Crochet sounded like a man who had made peace with whatever Boston decided.

“It was good. Been feeling good. I guess now it’s just a matter if anybody agrees with me,” Crochet said, per MLB.com‘s Ian Browne.

Red Sox Ace Garrett Crochet’s Injury Timeline

Crochet opened 2026 as Boston’s ace, but quickly fell apart. An April 13 start against Minnesota produced 11 runs in 1 2/3 innings, and two weeks later he landed on the injured list with left shoulder inflammation. His rehab stint in May lasted only a few weeks before a lat strain shut him down again. Boston moved him to the 60-day injured list in June.

He finished with six starts, a 3-3 record, a 6.30 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP over 30 innings. With the Minor League season already over, there was no chance for a rehab outing, so Boston rebuilt him entirely on bullpens and live batting practice. He touched 94-96 mph in a Sept. 22 session against Ceddanne Rafaela at Fenway Park.

“I felt like, with the way that went, I could go get outs,” Crochet said, as quoted by NBC Sports Boston.

He followed that with a second live batting practice session over the weekend in Fort Myers, the final checkpoint before Tuesday’s decision.

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How Red Sox Plan to Use Garrett Crochet

Boston’s rotation for this series will be rookie left-hander Payton Tolle in Game 1, Sonny Gray in Game 2 and Ranger Suarez if a Game 3 becomes necessary. Crochet will stay in the bullpen, a high-leverage arm who could face Yankees left-handed bats like Cody Bellinger and Ben Rice, open a game if Boston needs an opener for some reason, or grab an important out somewhere in the middle innings.

Whether Crochet can throw on back-to-back days, or appear more than once across the three-game set, is a question the Red Sox plan to address day-to-day rather than in advance.

“I think the answer to that is up in the air,” Tracy said. “It’s still going to be contingent on us continuing to evaluate him.”

Last October, Crochet threw 7 2/3 innings and struck out 11 in a series-opening win over the Yankees in the Bronx, after an 18-5, 2.59 ERA regular season and a runner-up finish in the AL Cy Young race. Pairing a healthy version of that pitcher with closer Aroldis Chapman would give Boston two potentially dominant left-handers in the late innings.

Five months is a long layoff, and the shoulder that shut him down once could do it again. Boston finished 87-75 and reached October without him. How useful can Crochet be? That’s likely the most intriguing question of the Wild Card series.

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