Garrett Crochet delivered a troubling update on his injury recovery Wednesday, revealing that the lat strain that surfaced in early June is “a lot worse” than the Boston Red Sox initially believed, leaving no clear timeline for the left-handed ace’s return.
The setback marks the latest turn in a recovery process that has grown increasingly concerning, with Crochet now unable to estimate when he might even resume playing catch as Boston awaits additional testing on the injured lat muscle.
Garrett Crochet Injury: Timeline of Bad News Getting Worse
Crochet last took the mound on April 25. Four days later, the club placed him on the 15-day injured list with left shoulder inflammation, according to MLB.com. He was 3-3 with a 6.30 ERA across six starts â a number inflated by an April 13 outing in Minnesota in which he surrendered 11 runs and recorded just five outs. Crochet then gave five runs in five innings to the Detroit Tigers before bouncing back with six scoreless innings in his final start against the Baltimore Orioles.
On May 26, he threw a one-inning simulated game at Fenway Park and reported solid velocity and command. Days later, tightness in his lat ended those sessions. The team called it a mild strain. An MRI in early June showed a very low-grade left lat strain, with interim manager Chad Tracy indicating Crochet could resume throwing once he became pain-free.
On June 5, the Red Sox transferred Crochet to the 60-day injured list, partly to open a 40-man roster spot, according to Boston.com‘s Colin McCarthy. But the move pushed his earliest possible return date to June 25. Wednesday’s comments from Crochet significantly altered expectations.
“I have no idea,” Crochet told reporters when asked when he might be cleared to play catch, as quoted by The Boston Globe‘s Peter Abraham.
That answer strongly suggests June 25 is no longer a realistic target.
Crochet Return Now Pushed Toward All-Star Break
Tracy told reporters Wednesday that Crochet will undergo additional testing later this week to assess how the latissimus dorsi is healing, according to The Boston Globe. Once cleared to throw â if and when that happens â Crochet faces the full rehab protocol. He must begin with playing catch, then long toss, bullpen sessions, facing live hitters and minor league rehab appearances before he returns to a major league mound.
The most optimistic scenario has Crochet back around the All-Star break in mid-July â a window the Globe report explicitly flagged as potentially optimistic. Given that he cannot yet play catch, reaching the mid-July target requires everything to go right from the moment testing clears him.
Crochet arrived in Boston in the 2024-25 offseason as the centerpiece of a trade with the Chicago White Sox. He proceeded to put together a 2025 campaign in which he went 18-5 with a 2.59 ERA and finished as the AL Cy Young runner-up. The Red Sox built their rotation around him. Right now, the club has no projected return date and is waiting on test results to learn what comes next.
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Garrett Crochet Reveals Grim New Twist in Red Sox Injury Saga appeared first on HEAVY.