The Boston Red Sox have certainly felt the immense loss of starting pitcher Garrett Crochet.
The club is 17-22 since he last took the mound on April 25th, the same day they fired longtime manager Alex Cora. Facing an uphill battle to reclaim any semblance of a positive season, it's not likely that Boston will be able to lean on their ace any time soon.
Earlier this week, a discouraging report came out on Crochet's status, where the left-hander told Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe, that his lat strain is “a lot worse than what we thought” and he has “no idea” when he will be able to throw again.
Strangely, MassLive's Christopher Smith revealed in an X post later that night that both Chad Tracy and Craig Breslow disagreed, telling Smith via text that nothing has changed about Crochet and that he is progressing well.
It has become a common theme for the Red Sox front office personnel to contradict players on injuries, as a similar situation occurred with Roman Anthony and Sam Kennedy.
But on Friday, Crochet cleared things up when speaking with the media, explaining the status of his injured lat and shoulder and estimating a potential return date.
As relayed by Chris Cotillo of MassLive, Crochet said his lat injury is "minor" and "not worse than they thought it was," clarifying that it was the shoulder injury that was taking longer than they expected.
He said that his lat is feeling better and the focus is back on strengthening his shoulder, adding that he is close to throwing but does not anticipate a return until after the All-Star break.
Considering the time he has already missed, it had always seemed unlikely that Crochet would be able to build himself back up the level he needs to start a game within the next month. Even if he turns a corner and can start throwing in the next week, he will still have to check a series of boxes including a rehab assignment that would take him beyond mid-July when the All-Star break begins.
Patience will also be key this time around for Crochet, as his lat injury came as a setback during a ramp up period from his initial shoulder injury. Now that the lat is seemingly feeling better, he will still have get to a place where he feels comfortable throwing live without aggravating the shoulder.
Crochet's injury could have important implications for the Red Sox beyond just this season. Written into the 26-year-old's contract extension is a clause that if spends over 120 days on the injured list with a left arm injury, would trigger a $15 million club option for 2032, essentially turning his six-year deal into a seven-year deal.
It is unclear how the lat injury would factor into this equation, but Crochet is already 48 days into his IL stint. If Boston's slide continues and their playoff hopes continue to shrink, it will be interesting to see how they manage their star ace in a lost season.
