It looks increasingly unlikely the Boston Red Sox will get back Garrett Crochet in his full, ace-level starting pitcher form this year. But having him back in any form would be a blessing for the Red Sox, and it appears they'll be able to deploy the star left-hander in some manner this postseason. Following a successful throwing session at Fenway Park on Friday, Crochet plans to throw another side session early this week as he trends toward a return from the shoulder injury that has held him out since April.
The possibility of Crochet throwing an inning or two before the regular season ends seems unrealistic, and the Red Sox clearly aren't pushing it. "I know there's a lot of excitement seeing him get on a mound, especially on the game mound," Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said, per MLB.com's Ian Browne. "The game mound pushes intensity, so the fastball velocity is up a mile an hour, which is good.
But we're still in 'check one box at a time' mode. Not, 'Oh, he threw off a mound, let's rush Garrett back.'" That Crochet is even in a position to contribute in the postseason is an improvement on how things looked in early summer. Although he was initially only expected to miss a little time, a mid-May setback cast a pall on what was looking like a lost season for both hurler and team.
The Red Sox caught fire after that, of course, and now they're more or less locked into the second AL Wild Card spot. With less than two weeks remaining in the regular season, a soft introduction back to playing speed likely won't be available to Crochet. The Double-A season is over and the Triple-A season ends Sunday, so he won't have an opportunity to make a traditional minor league rehab start.
If he does get a test inning or two out of the bullpen, it's looking like it will come in the MLB postseason or not at all. It's less than ideal, but the Red Sox will take Crochet at less than ideal conditions over not having him at all. With Sonny Gray, Payton Tolle and Ranger Suarez all capable of starting games in the playoffs, there's something a little scary for an opponent at the thought of Crochet joining Aroldis Chapman, Garrett Whitlock and Erik Miller in a shutdown Boston bullpen.
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