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BOSTON — Tuesday marked an important step — albeit a measured one — on Garrett Crochet’s path back to the Red Sox rotation.
For the first time since hitting the injured list on April 29, Crochet faced hitters, throwing a one-inning simulated game at Fenway Park on Tuesday afternoon. After facing teammates, Crochet came out of the session feeling good a month and a day since his last start before landing on the IL with shoulder fatigue.
“Felt good physically,” said interim manager Chad Tracy. “Velocity was in the mid-nineties and he felt pretty good about his pitch execution. It was a good day for him.”
After spending the first few days of his IL stint shut down from throwing while building up his shoulder with strengthening exercises, Crochet has slowly built back up. Before facing hitters Tuesday, he last threw an extended, two-inning bullpen Wednesday in Kansas City. He’s now on a five-day throwing program and expects to throw a side session off a mound in the next two or three days before facing hitters again.
“Another step, nice to check that box off,” Crochet said Tuesday. “My bullpens were going pretty poorly (with mechanics) and I was like, ‘Dude, I’m just not a bullpen guy.’ So, it went good today. It’s definitely a relief to have a hitter in the box, cranking intensity up a little bit and just be able to compete.”
Crochet will likely throw another multi-inning simulated game in five days, potentially over the weekend when the Red Sox are in Cleveland. At that point, he could be ready for a rehab assignment, though he also previously introduced the idea of re-entering the rotation on a limited basis instead of pitching for an affiliate. That decision will be due in the next week or so.
“It’s so early in the process. Just now starting to build up,” he said. “I said that back when I had been on the IL for a few days. Now it has been, what, over a month? It’ll be something that we evaluate when we get to that point.”
Barring any setbacks, Crochet could return to the big league roster in either the first or second week of June. It’s clear the Red Sox are being cautious with a process that Crochet described as including a “two steps forward, one step back” pattern in the month since he last pitched.
“I’m just trying to look at it five days in advance at a time,” Crochet said. “Whenever I’m ready or whenever I’m cleared, then I assume we’ll have that convo.”
Even though it wasn’t in game action, the Red Sox were encouraged to see Crochet back in a competitive, though simulated, environment. That the lefty’s latest step came on the same day Roman Anthony showed positive signs in his attempt to return from a hand injury was reassuring for the club.
“It’s a good day for me, getting positive news on both of them,” said Tracy. “Garrett is a huge, huge piece of our rotation and one of the best pitchers in baseball. Getting good news on that and getting closer is a positive step.”
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