Garrett

Crochet

Not good. Crochet remains without a return timetable and no immediate plans to resume throwing after suffering a lat strain back in late May. The 26-year-old fantasy ace was diagnosed with a low-grade lat strain initially, but clearly the situation was much worse than preliminary imaging revealed. He’s clearly worth stashing in deeper mixed leagues, but fantasy managers shouldn’t anticipate Crochet returning anytime soon. It’s another glaring indication that the Red Sox are likely to wind up as sellers as the trade deadline in early August.

Crochet has been on IL since April 29, so while there wasn’t a formal timetable on his return after a setback with a lat injury, he’ll be down until at least the end of June. A return after the All-Star break would be a sensible estimate for Crochet.

It’s an encouraging development that imaging didn’t reveal any structural damage in Crochet’s shoulder after he was shut down from throwing over the weekend due to lat tightness. The 26-year-old fantasy ace will remain without a definitive return timeline until he’s cleared to begin a throwing progression. It seems highly unlikely that he’ll make it back until after next month’s All-Star break given the nature of the injury and how much time he’ll need to build up his arm strength and pitch count from ground zero.

The 26-year-old southpaw had been scheduled to face hitters in a live batting practice session on Tuesday, but that will no longer happen. It sounds like they’ll take it day-to-day for now on when he may be able to resume throwing. Crochet has been sidelined since late April due to inflammation in his pitching shoulder.

The next step for Crochet will be a minor league rehab start, likely this weekend, at either Double-A Portland or Triple-A Worcester. The 26-year-old ace figures to be ready to return to Boston’s rotation at some point in early-to-mid June. He’s been out since late April working his way back from shoulder inflammation.

It’ll be Crochet’s first time facing hitters since landing on the injured list with a shoulder issue back on April 29. The 26-year-old fantasy ace will need at least one minor league rehab outing before he’s ready to return to Boston’s rotation at some point in early June.

If all goes well with that session, the 26-year-old southpaw will be cleared for a simulated game early next week. If he avoids any setbacks along the way, Crochet is on track to return to the Red Sox’ rotation at some point in June.

Crochet told reporters afterwards that he wasn’t thrilled with his mechanics and will throw another bullpen later this week before progressing to facing hitters. The encouraging news here is that his shoulder feels fine from a physical standpoint. The 26-year-old fantasy ace will need a minor league rehab assignment before he returns to Boston’s rotation at some point in June.

Crochet progressed to throwing off a bullpen mound for the first time since hitting the injured list back on April 29. The 26-year-old fantasy ace will throw another bullpen session later this week before he’s ready to face hitters again. He told reporters that he doesn’t plan on making a minor league rehab start. The original expectation was that he would be ready to jump back into Boston’s rotation when first eligible to return, but that doesn’t appear to be happening anymore. Still, there’s a chance he’s ready to return by the end of May or early June.

“We continue to progress well there,” said Red Sox manager Chad Tracy. Crochet has been sidelined with shoulder fatigue and inflammation since April 29th, but there is no structural damage in his shoulder. The Red Sox will need to see the left-hander throw multiple times off a mound before he moves to facing hitters. He would then need at least one rehab start before rejoining the Red Sox, but he could return by the early part of June if all goes well.