The Boston Red Sox have announced the roster for the Wild Card round, and it includes the return of left-hander Garrett Crochet.
Crochet, who has been sidelined with a shoulder issue since April 25, pushed hard over the past month to come back as a relief arm. His throwing progression gave him just enough time to get back for Game 1 of the Wild Card round, but not a day sooner, as he was never able to see game action in the minors or majors during his rehab.
The move, while risky, provides tremendous upside for a Red Sox bullpen that finished the regular season with the lowest ERA in baseball at 2.99, but was just dealt the brutal loss of seventh inning power arm Tyron Guerrero. Crochet, along with fellow lefty Erik Miller, should figure into the replacement plan to get the ball from the starter to setup man Garrett Whitlock.
Boston’s 26-man postseason roster features 12 pitchers and 14 position players. Brayan Bello, Jake Bennett, Alec Gamboa, Wyatt Olds, and Greg Weissert make up the other bridge options from the three starters to closer Aroldis Chapman, who has nine seasons of playoff experience.
Notable misses include left-handers Jovani Morán and Patrick Sandoval, who ate up significant innings at the end of the year but were hit around too much to earn leverage roles. Tanner Houck, who appeared in his first game since May 2025 on Sunday, was also left off the roster.
There are no surprises in the position player group, with the only tough decision seemingly coming between speedy utility man Nate Eaton, who made the team, and minor league base stealing specialist Braiden Ward, who was brought along to the Bronx but will not make his major league debut this week.
The long wait is over; The Red Sox will get their chance at revenge in the first round against their bitter rivals, this time with a bit more firepower than last year. Game 1 kicks off at 8:00 p.m. ET with rookie Payton Tolle getting the ball against Cam Schlittler.
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