Red Sox Replacements After Reports of Garrett Crochet Setback

The Boston Red Sox may not see Garrett Crochet on the mound for the organization for a while.

On Wednesday, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reported that Crochet's lat strain is "a lot worse" than the club initially feared. This cannot be called the worst-case scenario at this time, but it's not far from it. The worst-case scenario would be if the Red Sox had announced that Crochet is done for the season. As of right now, the club hasn't made that claim, but things aren't looking great. Crochet isn't going to be back for a while, at the very least.

The Red Sox's rotation currently has Connelly Early, Payton Tolle, Sonny Gray, Ranger Suárez, and Jake Bennett. Brayan Bello is down in the minors right now as well. This is still a very good rotation on paper. If Crochet misses significant time, how should the Red Sox respond?

The Red Sox Star Is Hurting

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

For the short term, Bennett will fill in. He looked solid on Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Rays as he allowed four earned runs in five innings pitched. Bello is down in Triple-A. If he can turn his season around and look good in Worcester, he could be an easy option to replace Crochet. Patrick Sandoval should be back in the mix at some point as well.

If the Red Sox wanted to add an external piece, former New York Yankees All-Star Nestor Cortes is out there in free agency and could make sense as a minor league depth piece.

Before anyone brings him up, Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers should not be considered as an option. He's a rental and the price tag is going to be far too high for what the struggling Red Sox should be willing to pay. Right now, the Red Sox are 12 games below .500. Skubal isn't fixing that. The same can be said about Freddy Peralta of the New York Mets.

There are guys worth considering if the club were to think a trade is necessary. Someone like Luis Castillo of the Seattle Mariners would make more sense. Even Joe Ryan of the Minnesota Twins would make more sense because he's under team control beyond the 2026 season.

Boston has more arms on the way, like Sandoval, so it doesn't really need to do anything crazy. But the rotation is now under a microscope.

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