Garrett Crochet rides out ups and downs of throwing program on way back to top of Red Sox rotation
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Wednesday was a good-news, bad-news day for Garrett Crochet.
The good news was the most important: In an “up-and-down” bullpen session meant to approximate the workload of two innings, the Red Sox ace’s left shoulder felt strong. The inflammation that resulted in his placement on the injured list on April 29 no longer is a concern as he progressively increases the volume and intensity of his work.
That said, Crochet spent significant time in the bullpen engaged in towel drills and resistance band work with his delivery at the end of the session after his mechanics felt out of whack while he threw. He was unable to reclaim the form he found in his last start before landing on the IL, when he posted six shutout innings against the Orioles in Baltimore on April 25, a course correction after he’d posted a 7.88 ERA through four starts.
“It sucks,” Crochet said of feeling like he has to rediscover his mechanics. “I feel like I built some positive momentum … and then to kind of have that halted, it’s almost like I don’t even remember Baltimore. All I remember is the [expletive] one, so right now it’s trying to build on the positive momentum that I had going.”
Crochet did allow that higher-intensity elements in his progression may help him to feel like himself on the mound. He’s expected to throw another bullpen session over the weekend, followed by a live batting practice session next week. He expects he’ll need at least one more outing after that against hitters (either live bp again or a rehab outing).
While Crochet didn’t put a timetable on his return, that succession of checkpoints would keep him out of the rotation for the rest of the month.
“I feel like everyone that goes on the IL, it’s always a little longer than they want it to be. I’m not exempt from that,” he said. “It’s definitely taken longer than I had hoped it would when I initially went on the IL, but it’s part of it. Right now, I’m just trying to be a good cheerleader.”
Crochet and the Sox have found some solace in the fact that the rest of the rotation has offered reason for him to cheer. Entering Wednesday night’s 4-3 win against the Royals, in the 21 games since Crochet’s last start, the Sox rotation had a 3.21 ERA that ranked fifth in MLB.
“When Garrett’s right, he is as good as they come, and if we get him right and add him to that mix, it’s pretty exciting,” said interim manager Chad Tracy. “But in the meantime, our guys have done a fantastic job holding down the fort.”
Injury updates
Trevor Story visited core muscle injury expert Dr. William Meyers in Philadelphia for a third opinion on how to treat his sports hernia. According to Tracy, the shortstop has yet to decide on what course of treatment he’ll follow – or whether that will include surgery.
Righthander Johan Oviedo, who has been on the injured list since April 3 with an elbow strain, had a follow-up appointment that resulted in clearance to start forearm strengthening exercises.
“Hopefully in a couple, two, three weeks, he’s starting to throw,” Tracy said. “Everything went well with his checkup.”
Patrick Sandoval (biceps discomfort) is throwing bullpen sessions on a regular schedule. The lefthander threw one Tuesday without issue and will throw another Friday.
Eye on Eyanson
Anthony Eyanson threw five no-hit innings for Double-A Portland on Tuesday, adding to his remarkable pro debut. In six starts (four in High-A Greenville, two with the Sea Dogs), the righthander has a 0.61 ERA with 42 strikeouts and seven walks in 29⅓ innings.
Perhaps more notable than his line in Portland, however, was a new wrinkle in his pitch mix. Eyanson, whose four-seamer/curveball/slider/splitter mix represents a challenging vertical attack for hitters, unveiled a cutter to try to incorporate a pitch with horizontal movement.
“We have more arms down in the system that are coming, which is really great news. There was a time where that didn’t feel like it was the case,” Tracy, alluding to fallow periods in the team’s pitching pipeline during his tenure as Triple-A Worcester manager, said. “Between the guys we have in Triple-A, guys like Eyanson and [2026 first-rounder Kyson] Witherspoon, there’s more coming.”
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