Over the last two months, the Boston Red Sox have put themselves back into the playoff race. Now, they have to prove that they can hold onto their spot, and that’s going to take all hands on deck.
One of the biggest pieces who has been missing almost the entire season for the Red Sox is Garrett Crochet. Coming into the year as a Cy Young favorite, Crochet struggled in April before hitting the IL with a left shoulder injury that wasn’t originally supposed to be severe. He hasn’t pitched since April 25th as a result of that, though.
Now, Red Sox manager Chad Tracy has shared that Crochet is still at 60 feet in his throwing progression. So, as far as his rehab goes, it’s still relatively light work before potentially getting him back on the mound.
“It’s not a lot,” Tracy said. “It’s been light throwing right now, and see how he continues to react to that before they start backing him up.”
Pitching has been a strength of the Red Sox all season long. In the starting rotation, young lefties like Payton Tolle and Jake Bennett have slotted in well and have given Crochet the time he needs to get as healthy as possible.
Garrett Crochet is Willing to Work from the Boston Red Sox Bullpen
GettyBoston Red Sox starting pitcher Garrett Crochet
When the time does come for Garrett Crochet to return to the Boston Red Sox, he may not be in the starter role that he’s thrived in. Instead, in an effort to protect his arm, Chad Tracy has suggested that they may use him in a bullpen role.
“If he’s healthy and right, and he looks like Garrett Crochet, I think we’d be foolish not to consider that.” Tracy said, before noting that getting Crochet stretched out to six innings by the end of September is “probably not feasible.”
Luckily, it does appear that Crochet would be open to this kind of move. That’s something not every ace caliber starter would.
“There’s no ego about it. It’s something I’ve done before,” Crochet said. “Any way possible I can help this team achieve the goal we set out in spring training, the goal that every team sets out to achieve. If I could help us achieve it, I don’t really care what the role is.”
It was a difficult year for Crochet prior to his injury. In six starts, he has a 6.30 ERA and a 1.467 WHIP.
“That’s not really in my court,” Crochet said. “For me, I’m looking forward to helping this team in any way I can. I’ve been on the sidelines for three months, and they’ve been killing it, and it just makes me hungrier and hungrier to want to join and just contribute.”
Crochet is Closing in on Triggering a Clause in His Red Sox Contract
GettyBoston Red Sox starting pitcher Garrett Crochet
Garrett Crochet hasn’t pitched for the Red Sox since April 25th, which has obviously hurt the Red Sox in 2026. It could also trigger a major change to Crochet’s contract with the team if he’s out for much longer, though.
Within his contract, there’s a clause where if he spends 120 days or more on the IL with a left arm injury, then the team would have a club option for 2032. That option is worth $15 million and would essentially keep Crochet in Boston for an extra season.
“It sucks, but I mean, what’s the worst thing that happens? I’m in Boston for another year? Which is pretty good. This is a place that I wanted to be,” Crochet said. “That was a clause that was kind of helping the team mitigate the risk, I suppose. And they knew that there was risk. I knew that there was risk. Last year, it’s like, am I outperforming [his salary]? Or does it matter? And now I get hurt, and it’s like, I’m glad that I secured the protection.
That 120-day window gives Crochet a few more weeks before the clause is triggered. Of course, both the Red Sox and Crochet want him back on the field sooner than later if possible.
“What I felt when I signed the contract was that I wanted to outperform the deal. So it sucks, but there’s still time,” Crochet said.
Red Sox Injury Update: Chad Tracy Shares Latest on Garrett Crochet