Red Sox Ace Garrett Crochet Making 'Good Headway' After Lat Setback

The Boston Red Sox workhorse is still on the shelf, but has made some "good headway" as he works his way back to Boston.

Apr 25, 2026; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher Garrett Crochet (35) throws during the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images | Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images

The Boston Red Sox have been snakebitten by significant injuries all season to this point, including to ace Garrett Crochet and outfielder Roman Anthony.

Boston has taken a lot of heat this season — and rightfully so — but it probably doesn't get talked about enough that the club lost its No. 1 starter and No. 1 offensive weapon early in the season and now both have missed roughly two months of action.

On the pitching side, Boston was built to weather the storm if injuries popped up. The Red Sox entered the season with a surplus of elite starters and have utilized that depth well as injuries surfaced, including Crochet's. The Red Sox's roster was not built to weather the storm with injuries to offensive pieces. Boston didn't add enough pop this past offseason. So, the Red Sox had to rely very heavily and hope young guys took steps forward. Not much wiggle room, to say the least, which is why the offense has struggled.

The Red Sox Ace Is Working His Way Back

Apr 19, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Garrett Crochet (35) pitches against the Detroit Tigers during the first inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Boston is missing Crochet and Anthony right now and neither has a clear timetable for return. Fortunately, the rotation has been great lately. Boston entered the day on Saturday with nine straight quality starts from starters after Payton Tolle's electric outing on Friday night. Still, the club clearly could use Crochet, who finished second in the American League Cy Young Award race in 2025. He had begun throwing and even started facing batters, but then was shut down due to a lat strain a few weeks ago.

On Saturday, Crochet spoke to Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com before Boston's contest against the New York Yankees and acknowledged that he's hoping to advance from plyo balls to real baseballs in the near future while giving an update on where he stands.

"I hope to have a ball — a real baseball — in my hand here soon,“ Crochet said. ”The plyos that I’m doing, though, are not far off. I’m throwing seven ounces, so it’s not like I’m afraid to get close to baseball weight. It’s moreso just the protocol.

“Just still just throwing plyos, doing a lot of [isometric] work. When the team was on the road and I stayed back, I made some good headway. Been trending up for a while. I think that lat setback is making us be extra cautious this time, naturally. Just in that situation where it’s like, wait until you feel great, then wait a couple more days.”

Before landing on the Injured List, Crochet had a 6.30 ERA in six starts, but was coming off one of his best starts of the season on April 25. That day, he pitched six shutout innings against the Baltimore Orioles with seven strikeouts. Last year, he had a 2.59 ERA in 32 starts in his first season in Boston.

Boston needs him back and it's positive that Crochet said he made some "good headway" when the team was on the road. Hopefully, it leads to the big lefty tossing real baseballs again soon.