SerpApi.Org
After months of looking like one of the worst teams in baseball, the Boston Red Sox have new life, suddenly in a Wild Card spot with a winning record for the first time since the second game of the season.
Even more impressively, Boston has made this turnaround short-handed. Four of the 10 players that took the field on March 25 for Opening Day are currently on the injured list, and this includes their ace starter Garrett Crochet.
After struggling to a 7.88 ERA through his first five starts, Crochet finally looked like himself in an April 25 outing in Baltimore where he dealt six scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and striking out seven. But the 27-year-old lefty has yet to take the mound since.
His injury that was originally labeled left shoulder inflammation became a longer issue when it was complicated by a lat strain he suffered while trying to ramp up in June. Since then, there have been very little by way of updates or progress for the club's rotation centerpiece, and it has now become a question of if he will return rather than when.
Taking questions on Tuesday, Crochet was unable to say for sure if he thinks he will pitch again this season.
"It's tough to say," he said via NBC Sports Boston. "I’m not going to make a claim like that... it’s just completely different from the original diagnosis.”
Crochet also spoke with Tim Healey of The Boston Globe, explaining what a possible return would look like considering the amount of time he has missed and what it would take to ramp back up to pitching in a big-league game.
According to Healey, the left-hander is eyeing the postseason as a realistic date as he will need a "spring training-esque six weeks" to build up. As he is still not cleared to throw and does not have a clear idea of when he will be, this timeline will almost certainly drag on until the start of October.
Crochet shared his thoughts on this somewhat bleak outlook, questioning "what the [expletive] is the point of building up the strength now?”
This also means that Crochet, who has now spent 87 days on the IL, will run his time on the list up to 120 days and eliminate the opportunity to opt-out of his deal in 2030 while adding a $15 million club option for 2032. This is due to a unique clause written into his contract that triggers if he misses 120 consecutive days with a left arm injury.
Crochet wasn't too concerned with this fact, telling Healey "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… 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."
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While Crochet's injury has been a dark cloud hanging over the Red Sox season, the team has been lucky to see such strong performances in his absence and holds a 3.55 team ERA, which ranks fourth in MLB and second in the American League.
But the boost that he could provide the now postseason hopeful club cannot be overstated, and any updates regarding his progress as he looks to build back the strength from his two injuries will be crucial in the Red Sox's potential October outlook. Though for now, it continues to be a waiting game.
