Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images/USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Boston Red Sox reliever Garrett Crochet at Fenway Park
The Boston Red Sox spent most of the spring wondering how they were supposed to survive without Garrett Crochet. Then they started winning so aggressively that the new problem is whether there is enough season left to turn their ace back into a starter.
The Red Sox are(30-5 since June 25) and 25-3 since July 3, an absurd heater Crochet called “the craziest run I’ve ever (expletive) heard of.” He has not pitched since April 25 because of left shoulder inflammation and a later lat setback, but he finally restarted a light throwing program this week. Boston’s roster may have accidentally become too good while he was gone.
Boston May Not Have Time To Build Garrett Crochet Back Into Garrett Crochet
Crochet began the year as the unquestioned ace after finishing second in AL Cy Young voting in 2025 with a 2.59 ERA and an MLB-best 255 strikeouts. His 2026 season went sideways fast. He made six starts, went 3-3 with a 6.30 ERA and landed on the injured list after his April 25 outing.
The original hope was a fairly quick return. Then the shoulder issue lingered, a low-grade lat strain interrupted his buildup and the calendar kept moving while Boston turned from early-season mess into one of baseball’s hottest teams. Now interim manager Chad Tracy says stretching Crochet all the way back to six innings is “probably not feasible.”
That creates a much funnier option: take your $170 million ace and turn him into the world’s most overqualified relief pitcher for a couple of months.
Crochet is completely fine with it.
“There’s no ego about it. It’s something I’ve done before,” he said this week. “If there’s any way possible I can help this team achieve the goal we set out in Spring Training … I don’t really care what the role is.”
For a pitcher who transitioned into a starting role with the White Sox in 2024, that is a pretty dramatic shift. It also makes sense when you have spent three months watching your teammates win almost every night while your job consists of shoulder exercises and asking trainers when you can throw again.
The Red Sox Somehow Turned An Injury Problem Into A Luxury Decision
Crochet has experience in relief. His first three major-league seasons came almost entirely out of Chicago’s bullpen, so Boston would not be asking him to learn a completely foreign job in September.
The bigger issue is getting him healthy enough to do any job.
Crochet threw only 30 pitches from roughly 60 feet when he resumed throwing Monday. He still needs to progress to longer distances, get back on a mound, face hitters and eventually begin a rehab assignment. There is a lot of road between “playing catch” and “please get Juan Soto out with runners on second and third.”
Tracy still said Boston would be “foolish not to consider” a bullpen role if Crochet returns looking like himself.
That says plenty about how much the season has changed. In May, the Red Sox desperately needed their ace back because they were losing. In August, they are discussing whether they can squeeze him into an already-deep bullpen because everyone else started winning without him.
Crochet does not sound offended.
He said watching the run has only made him “hungrier and hungrier” to contribute.
Boston waited months to get its ace back.
Now the Red Sox might only need him for three outs at a time.