Garrett Crochet (shoulder) throws off a mound

It’s a significant step towards Crochet returning to Boston’s pitching equation as a one or two-inning relief option for the postseason. The 27-year-old fantasy ace made just six starts before hitting the injured list with a shoulder issue in late April. It won’t help fantasy managers down the home stretch, but it qualifies as a positive that Crochet managed to avoid surgery and is making real progress with his throwing program. He should be healthy for the start of next spring, lockout permitting, after a normal offseason.

It’s an important milestone for Crochet as he attempts to make it back to Boston as a reliever in time for a potential postseason run. The 27-year-old fantasy ace seems highly unlikely to pitch before the regular season concludes, but he’s probably going to be in the mix for a postseason roster spot.

Crochet is gradually building up his throwing progression with the aim of returning as a one or two-inning relief weapon for the postseason. The 27-year-old fantasy ace has been on the shelf with a capsule strain in his shoulder since late April. He can be safely dropped in all redraft fantasy leagues at this point of the season.

Crochet, who has been sidelined with a capsule strain in his shoulder since late April, added that he could potentially make it back as a one or two-inning reliever if he makes it back to Boston before the end of the season. The 27-year-old ace would provide the Red Sox with a real weapon out of the bullpen for the postseason, but his odds of making any sort of meaningful fantasy impact appear nonexistent for the rest of the season. There’s a contractual component to Crochet’s absence where he’s missed enough time that the opt-out in his six-year, $170 million contract with the club converts to a $15 million club option for 2032. Basically, the Red Sox have Crochet under control for five guaranteed years and $142 million with a sixth-year option for 2032.

Tracy added that they’re waiting to see how Crochet’s shoulder responds before increasing his throwing distance. With just over six weeks left in the season, it seems highly unlikely that he’ll be stretched out enough to start for the Red Sox before the regular season concludes. However, he could potentially be built up enough to contribute as a multi-inning reliever down the home stretch. There should be a more definitive return timetable once he begins ramping up his throwing progression.

The Red Sox remain focused on getting Crochet back into their rotation by the postseason. That doesn’t mean that he won’t return in September, but it does mean that he’s unlikely to return as a fully stretched-out starter. Instead, he could be used as a reliever: “If he’s healthy and right, and he looks like Garrett Crochet, I think we’d be foolish not to consider that,” said Tracy. Even though Crochet recently began his throwing progression again, he’s not a recommended stash in redraft leagues.

Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy told reporters Crochet, who has progressed to flat-ground throwing at roughly 60 feet, is at the very outset of his throwing program. He added that he absolutely has a chance at returning this season. The 27-year-old fantasy ace has been on the shelf with shoulder and lat issues since late April. He’s not going to deliver enough volume to be worth stashing in shallow fantasy leagues, especially since he’s unlikely to make it back until some point in mid-to-late September. Yet, he could wind up being a late-season pickup as a streaming option.

As Healey notes, Crochet is now three months into recovery for a shoulder injury that the Red Sox were initially not convinced needed an IL stint. Of course, that has included connected issues to separate parts of the shoulder that turned an inflammation designation into a lat strain. Crochet himself has stated that his goal is to pitch for the Red Sox in the postseason, but even that is not guaranteed at this point. Once Crochet is cleared, and he has not been yet, “he’ll need a spring training-esque six weeks or so, maybe longer” to be ready to pitch in an MLB game. It’s probably time to drop Crochet in all redraft fantasy leagues if you’ve been holding on this long.

Crochet has been sidelined since late April with a shoulder injury and then a subsequent lat strain. He admitted that he needed to dial down what he was doing while recovering and stopped doing plyometric work in recent weeks. Since then, he feels “like [he’s] seen drastic gains.” The Red Sox are now firmly in the playoff race and would love to have their ace back, but until he is cleared to pick up a baseball, it’s hard to know when that will happen, even if he feels he’s moving in the right direction.

Not great. Crochet underwent followup imaging on Monday that showed improvement in his shoulder, but not enough for him to be cleared to start throwing again. The 27-year-old fantasy ace hit the injured list with a shoulder issue back in late April before suffering a lat strain a couple weeks later during his rehabilitation process. At this point it seems highly unlikely he’ll make it back to Boston’s rotation until sometime around August given how long it’ll take him to build up his arm strength and pitch count.