Where Red Sox's Garrett Crochet Stands in Return from Shoulder Injury

Still hoping it's not a long-term issue...

Boston Red Sox pitcher Garrett Crochet (35) throws a pitch in the second inning of the MLB Opening Day game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Boston Red Sox at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati on Thursday, March 26, 2026. The game was tied at 0 after four innings. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Boston Red Sox manager Chad Tracy issued an update on Saturday regarding ace Garrett Crochet's recovery from his shoulder injury, prior to Boston's game against the Tampa Bay Rays being postponed due to rain.

Crochet went on the injured list on April 29, just three days after he'd shut down the Baltimore Orioles for six scoreless innings in a 17-1 win. His throwing shoulder was bothering him, seemingly providing an explanation for some of his fastball struggles dating back to spring training, but he was hoping to avoid a long stint on the injured list.

According to Tim Healey of The Boston Globe, Tracy said Crochet had yet to return to a pitcher's mound as of Saturday. The good news was that his catch on flat ground had extended past 100 feet, but there could still be additional hurdles to clear even after the bullpens begin.

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Crochet's return "not imminent," per Tracy

In Healey's words, Tracy's update on Crochet indicated that the ace's return was "not imminent." It would probably have to go down as a win for the Red Sox if Crochet only missed a month, but it seems that we're still too early in the process to know how close that range will be to the actual total.

It's been anything but the ideal start to the season for Crochet, but there's still time to turn things around. The 6.30 ERA he put up in his first six starts was jarring, though three of those starts were quite good and it really was just the one blow-up outing in Minnesota, during which he allowed 10 earned runs in 1 2/3 innings, that tanked his numbers.

It was likely always going to be a bit longer than a minimum 15-day stint, regardless of whether Crochet said he'd be ready to return by then. The Red Sox made a $170 million investment in the lefty last year, and they need to protect that investment at the back end as well.

But as soon as we know Crochet is at least throwing off a mound, we can start to dream on an impending return. For now, it's a holding pattern.

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