Red Sox Lose Garrett Crochet to 15-Day IL: What We Know So Far

Garrett Crochet certainly wasn't his normal, dominant self in his first six starts of the new season. Now, we have at least one possible explanation.

Out of nowhere, Crochet was placed on the 15-day injured list on Wednesday, according to a report from MassLive's Christopher Smith. MassLive's Chris Cotillo previously reported that utility man Nate Eaton was being promoted to the active roster from Triple-A Worcester.

That the Red Sox will play on Wednesday with 14 position players and 12 pitchers is probably the least impactful part of the story. A floundering team that just fired its manager is now without its ace for the immediate future, and the fallout could last months.

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Bullet notes from Red Sox's stunning IL placement

We knew something was up on Tuesday, when the Red Sox held back Triple-A prospect Jake Bennett from making his scheduled start. Crochet had been scheduled to make his next start on Friday, so that would seem to be when Bennett would make his major league debut, if he is indeed called up after the current series against the Toronto Blue Jays.

We also knew something wasn't right all season with Crochet, whose 6.30 ERA in 30 innings was a far cry from last year's dominance. He threw nearly 60 more innings in 2025 than his previous career-high, set only the year before, so it wasn't a shocker that his arm might be a little worse for the wear.

In fact, the warning signs started during spring training, when Crochet's velocity was slightly down and he couldn't seem to strike anyone out. He did pile up 37 punchouts during the regular season, but he struggled to find consistency with his arm slot and when he threw fastballs in the zone, they were getting killed.

It's too early to know how long Crochet will be out, but if this turns into a long-term thing, year two of a six-year extension could be a wash, while the remaining years of that extension would quickly become riskier than Boston ever wanted.

Bennett, the piece the Red Sox got from the Washington Nationals in the December trade for prospect Luis Perales, was off to a fantastic start in Triple-A. But for a Red Sox team struggling to get anything going, it's a tough look to swap out an ace for an unproven rookie.

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