Red Sox Hit Jackpot as Garret Crochet Avoids Serious Shoulder Injury

The Boston Red Sox underwent an MRI on his shoulder after being placed on the Injured List.

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

The Boston Red Sox are missing Garrett Crochet right now, but fortunately got a positive update on Friday.

Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reported that Crochet underwent an MRI after being placed on the Injured List due to left shoulder inflammation. Fortunately, the results came back clean and Crochet isn't currently dealing with anything other than the inflammation.

"Garrett Crochet update: He did get an MRI, and it didn’t show anything other than inflammation, Chad Tracy said," Healey wrote. "He is shut down from throwing for at least a couple of days while he builds shoulder strength."

The Red Sox Ace Got Some Good News

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

No. 6 prospect Jake Bennett is set to start in his place on Friday night when the Red Sox begin a series against the Houston Astros.

It'll be nice to see the young flamethrower in action on Friday night, but the most important thing for Boston's pitching staff as a whole right now is getting Crochet right and back at the top of the rotation. He's the Red Sox's No. 1 starter for a reason. Last year, Crochet inked a long-term deal with Boston and proceeded to pitch to a 2.59 ERA in 32 starts while finishing in second place in the American League Cy Young Award race.

His numbers don't look as great right now. Crochet has a 6.30 ERA across his first six starts of the season, although those numbers are skewed by the worst start of his career in which he allowed 10 earned runs in 1 2/3 innings against the Minnesota Twins. In his six starts, he has two different outings with zero runs against him and one outing with two runs against him. Crochet allowed four runs or more in his other three starts so far this season.

Boston is a mess right now overall. The Red Sox fired Alex Cora and are 12-19 on the season. Plus, they don't have their ace right now and Sonny Gray is also on the Injured List. Boston needs something to break in its direction. The fact that Crochet didn't suffer any structural damage in his shoulder is a step in that direction. Now, hopefully the inflammation clears up quickly and he only needs to miss the minimum time before returning to the hill. There's a lot of season left. This club isn't out of it. But the Red Sox can't dig themselves a much bigger hole. They have to start turning things around.