The Boston Red Sox are 80-66 with the postseason three weeks away. The roster is taking shape. The arms that could define October are getting closer.
On Tuesday afternoon at Fenway Park, Garrett Crochet put on his home uniform and headed to the bullpen. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and pitching coach Andrew Bailey looked on as the left-hander worked through his pitch mix on the mound.
Tim Healey of the Boston Globe reported that Crochet is making progress toward being available for the playoffs, even if he does not pitch in any games at the major or minor league level before then.
The Bullpen Sessions Are Building
Tuesday’s session was Crochet’s second since Friday. He threw his first bullpen four days earlier, when his fastball sat in the upper 80s. That was intentional. Crochet made it clear there was no reason to push velocity in the first session back.
“There’s going to be a time where I need to step on it,” Crochet said. “First bullpen, not the time.”
The next step after Tuesday will likely be another session later in the week. From there, the Red Sox plan to move Crochet toward facing live hitters, either in a live batting practice or simulated game setting. With the Triple-A season ending on September 20, the window for a rehab appearance is narrow. Crochet has said he believes he can return for October without one.
Bailey expressed confidence in what he has seen so far.
“It’s exciting,” Bailey said. “Obviously anytime you can add Garrett Crochet into the mix is going to be huge for the team. With what he’s been through this season, he is doing really well and just continues to progress.”
Crochet Believes He Can Do This
Crochet has been sidelined since late April with shoulder inflammation. The injury wiped out nearly his entire season after he was the American League Cy Young runner-up in 2025. For most players, returning straight to the postseason after five months away would be an unreasonable ask.
Crochet does not see it that way.
“Someone brought it up the other day. They were like, isn’t that crazy? I’m like, not really,” Crochet said. “I’ve done crazy things before. I’m not Joe Schmoe. I’ve done impressive things. I think that that would be a big ask for some people, but I don’t think it’s a crazy ask for me.”
The comparison he draws is to his own career. In 2020, the White Sox drafted Crochet in the first round after he pitched in just one college game before the pandemic shut the season down. He spent the summer at the team’s alternate site with minimal game action. Then he debuted in September, made five scoreless relief appearances, and earned a spot on the postseason roster.
Chris Getz, who ran White Sox player development at the time and is now their general manager, remembers what that version of Crochet looked like.
“It was electric,” Getz said. “For that short window of time, when he was 100-plus, hitters wanted no part of him.”
What the Role Could Look Like for the Red Sox
A return to the rotation is not realistic. The timeline does not allow for the kind of buildup a starting spot would require. But the Red Sox see multiple ways to use Crochet in shorter stints.
Chad Tracy laid out the possibilities.
“He’s obviously a starting pitcher, so he’d have plenty of comfort opening a game if you wanted to go that route,” Tracy said. “He’s pitched out of the bullpen, so if you need him to come in in the middle innings of a game and wipe out two innings, I’m sure he’d have comfort doing that, too.”
Bailey echoed the belief that Crochet’s track record earns him the benefit of the doubt.
“It’s Garrett,” Bailey said. “He’s done amazing things in this league already. I wouldn’t put it past him. He’s an animal on the mound. Anytime you can insert Garrett onto the roster, and into any role on the team, there’s a ton of value.”
Final Word for the Red Sox
Garrett Crochet threw another bullpen on Tuesday. Breslow and Bailey watched. The progress continues.
He has not pitched in a game since April. He may not pitch in one before the postseason begins. None of that fazes him. He has been through something like this before, and he delivered then.
Three weeks. A few more checkpoints. Then the biggest games of the year. Crochet believes he will be ready. The Red Sox believe it too.
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