Garrett Crochet has still not started throwing since the Red Sox placed their ace on the injured list on April 29. Dealing with what was first labeled as left lat tightness but has since been expanded to left shoulder inflammation, Crochet provided an update on his status on the Baseball Isn’t Boring podcast this week.
Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said near the end of June that Crochet had begun throwing plyo balls with hopes a regular throwing program would follow. Since then, the 27-year-old lefty has stopped throwing plyos and is still unsure of his timeline.
He said the “mission” is getting his rotator cuff in a good spot before moving forward. He’s continued to be reevaluated every seven-to-10 days.
“I feel like I’m a broken record, but with the [shoudler] capsule, it’s weird,” Crochet said. “I gotta let it heal while also addressing areas that are surrounding it, with the cuff being the main one that we need to carry a majority of the workload when it comes to the throw itself.”
Tracy shared the same sentiment before Game 1 of Friday’s double-header against the Rays.
“Garrett, there’s no change,” Tracy said. “He’s still doing a lot of work to strengthen the rotator cuff, so there’s no change as far as when he’s going to throw yet.”
Crochet reiterated that he did not anticipate the injury being this serious when he first went on the IL. In fact, he did not initially expect to even need an IL stint.
In more positive news, Crochet said that he has been trending in the right direction for a while now. His goal remains to pitch again this season, though the clock is ticking to get that done.
“Since stopping plyos, especially, I feel like I’ve seen drastic gains,” Crochet said. “But as far as what makes you ready for [throwing], I mean, I’m not an athletic trainer, so I don’t really know.”
After finishing as the runner-up for the AL Cy Young Award a season ago, Crochet started just six games this year before injury, pitching to a 6.30 ERA. In the meantime, the Red Sox have shaken off a bad start to the year to win nine in a row entering the All-Star break. Boston sits just a half-game back in a wide-open AL Wild Card race.
“We’re in it right now, so it’s tough that I’m kind of sitting on my hands. But I also feel like it’s the right thing for the Boston Red Sox as well as myself,” Crochet said. “That was part of it to begin with. Selfishly, I wanted to get back because I wanted to help the team.
“The team has clearly shown that they can survive and thrive. Now that we’re coming back into it, I’m able to take a step back and think, ‘How can I help the team?’ Full transparency, I was not throwing the ball well before going on the IL. I felt like I was turning a corner, but in order for me to help the team, I gotta be healthy.”
