Garrett Crochet was the American League Cy Young Award runner-up last season, but has spent most of this season on the injured list with a shoulder injury.
Crochet has started playing catch with just under six weeks to go in the regular season and is eyeing a return to the team before the postseason. It would be a huge return for the Red Sox, but he has no idea when he will be ready.
"I’m quite hopeful,” Crochet said on Tuesday, per MassLive's Chris Cotillo. “I’m not gonna say (when), because I don’t know. The past couple times I’ve been like, ‘Oh yeah, I probably don’t even need to go on the IL and here I (expletive) am, four months later. Right now, I’m trying to practice delayed gratification with myself. Unless I’m crossing the finish line, I’m not going to start celebrating.”
He still has quite a few hurdles to clear, including a rehab assignment, but when he does return, it won't be in the rotation. It's too late for him to ramp up to be a starter again this year.
"What could I build up to, max? Probably two innings, just looking at the schedule based on when I started throwing and being smart about it,” Crochet said.
Crochet had a 2.59 ERA in 32 starts last season, recording 255 strikeouts. He was sensational for the Red Sox, but had a 6.30 ERA through six starts this year. Perhaps the shoulder was bothering him before the move to the injured list, and he will be much better when he returns.
Crochet has tons of experience as a reliever. He was a reliever in his first three seasons with the Chicago White Sox and had a 2.71 ERA in 72 games. Come October, he could be an elite weapon out of the bullpen, or perhaps even an opener.
Starters often have short leashes in October, but imagine pulling Payton Tolle, Sonny Gray or Ranger Suarez out of a game after four or five innings and plugging Crochet in for two innings to bridge the gap to Garrett Whitelock and Aroldis Chapman.