"Just trying to make sure that when I do return to play, that I’m there for the rest of the year.”
Less than a week ago, Red Sox manager Chad Tracy signaled some optimism when it came to the potential return of ace Garrett Crochet.
Crochet — sidelined since April 25 due to left shoulder inflammation — faced live hitters on May 26 at Fenway Park, with the 26-year-old starter set to check off a few more tasks in his return to the mound with additional bullpen and live BP reps in the coming days.
“‘Felt good physically. … So it’s a good day for him,” Tracy said of Crochet. “I haven’t talked to him fully yet, but he seemed in pretty good spirits.”
But that sentiment shifted on Sunday for Crochet and the Red Sox.
Speaking ahead of Boston’s eventual 9-4 win over Cleveland, both Crochet and Tracy acknowledged that the lefthander experienced a setback and will not take part in his scheduled live BP on Tuesday back at Fenway.
Speaking to The Boston Globe’s Tim Healey, Crochet said that he’s dealt with tightness in his left lat in recent days — with Boston’s top pitcher set to meet with doctors and get an MRI early this week.
“Feels like a very minor setback. It [stinks] to even call it a setback. It doesn’t feel like it even deserves that title,” Crochet told Healey. “Just trying to make sure that when I do return to play, that I’m there for the rest of the year.”
“That’s going to push it back some, but how long, no clue,” Tracy added of Crochet’s revised timeline. “We’ll see how he feels and what the docs say and how quickly it resolves.”
While Crochet initially experienced this new lat injury while throwing last Thursday, its persistence over the weekend raised concerns — and prompted both the team and the pitcher to step back and avoid ramping up his throwing workload.
“It’s really lingering,” Tracy said. “We were hoping it was just soreness. But he’s throwing and it’s still there. It is improving, but for right now, we’re backing off until he sees docs and gets back home.”
Even though Crochet was seemingly making strides in recent weeks in terms of his return to the mound, he acknowledged that he was still “a little far off” from making a rehab start even before this new lat issue sprouted up.
“That’s a pretty vulnerable time, though, for the arm in general during the buildup process,” Crochet said. “So, if it was going to happen at some point, I would expect it to happen right around now, which [stinks]. But just strengthen the area and move on.”
It’s been a frustrating season for both Crochet and the Red Sox, who have had to trudge ahead without two of arguably their top players in their aforementioned ace and outfielder Roman Anthony for the majority of this 2026 campaign.
Prior to landing on the IL in April, Crochet was 3-3 with a 6.30 ERA across six starts.
Much like Crochet, Anthony — out since May 4 with an injured ligament in his right ring finger — had a setback over the weekend after experiencing more pain while hitting a baseball off a tee. There is no timetable yet for the 22-year-old outfielder’s return.
“We’ve been getting used to, at least right now, having to deal with playing baseball games and life without him,” Tracy said of lingering injuries. “So from my perspective, it doesn’t change the current situation. We’ve still got to go out and win baseball games, and we still have guys in our rotation who have done an amazing job and are very capable.”
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
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