Red Sox Caught in Limbo With Garrett Crochet: The Latest

Boston's ace still isn't sure about timelines...

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

It's a nervous week for Boston Red Sox and left-handed pitcher Garrett Crochet.

Crochet was placed on the injured list in late April after experiencing shoulder fatigue, and he threw his first live batting practice last week. On Sunday, the Red Sox announced that the lefty felt tightness in his lat, and had been temporarily stopped from throwing while undergoing imaging.

As of Tuesday, Crochet not only still was waiting on the results of that imaging, but he issued an injury update on himself that one could view either as glass-half-full or glass-half-empty.

What Crochet said about injury on Tuesday

Apr 13, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Garrett Crochet (35) delivers a pitch against the Minnesota Twins in the first inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images | Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

On one hand, as Crochet explained what had actually happened on Sunday, he made it clear that he didn't think the setback was going to have lingering ill effects for all that long.

“Kind of felt a pull in my lat,” he said, per Gabrielle Starr of the Boston Herald. “Coming back from the shoulder I figured I fell into a compensation pattern, and that’s really all it is. I don’t expect it to be something major.”

On the downside, however, Crochet gave a quote that made it seem as if the progress he was making could be slowed or derailed somewhat by having to re-start from scratch, which obvoiusly becomes more of a concern the longer he's shut down.

“(I was) getting close to being happy with where I was at,” Crochet said, per Starr. “The live went well, velo was in a good spot, command and stuff was in a good spot. So tough to have this, but just kind of all part of the road back.”

On top of all that uncertainty, there's also the consideration of whether to place Crochet on the 60-day injured list, which would make him ineligible to return until June 24. As of Tuesday, the Red Sox needed an extra spot on the 40-man roster if they wanted to promote veteran reliever Tommy Kahnle from Triple-A and keep him from leaving the organization via opt-out.

It feels like the other shoe will drop at some point this week, and we'll know whether to expect Crochet back before the All-Star break or not.