Garrett Crochet has never shied away from the reality that he is in a bit of a race against time.
Yes, the pitcher, who went on the injured list on April 26 with shoulder soreness, has started throwing baseball again. As he explained to WEEI.com prior to the Red Sox's game against the White Sox Wednesday night at Fenway Park, there were 30 throws on Monday - 15 from a knee and 15 while standing. "Super moderate, just being smooth," he said. "I hadn’t picked up a ball in what was it, a month?"
"I actually felt really good. I feel strong. I felt like this past month, we really cleaned up a lot of things through specific muscle patterning and strength in general, so it feels very comfortable.”
But even with the step forward, the lefty understands the challenge that will present itself.
To get into big league form by October, there will have to be a whole lot more throwing needed, and not a ton of time to do it. To be exact, there are 53 days from the time Crochet discussed his current status until the final day of the regular season.
Crochet firmly believes he does have enough time. What he doesn't yet know is what kind of role will be waiting for him when that opportunity to return arises.
"That ultimately comes from Bres (Craig Breslow) and the rest of the front office," said Crochet, when asked if there would be enough time to re-enter the roster as a starting pitcher. "When it comes to throwing programs and buildup, I don’t know how many innings I’m going to be able to build up to. I haven’t taken like a true formal look at the throwing program. Honestly, that’s still up in the air. That’s not really in my court. For me, I’m looking forward to helping this team in any way I can. I’ve been on the sidelines for three months, and they’ve been killing it, and it just makes me hungrier and hungrier to want to join and just contribute because these guys have stepped up and posted all year. It’d be nice to help."
While Crochet balked at the idea of returning to the bullpen in 2024 when his name was surfaced in midseason trade rumors, this is a different scenario. He has familiarity with the team that would be implementing the strategy, and the lefty is living life with a long-term commitment, having signed a deal that allows him the opportunity to stay with the Red Sox through 2032.
"There’s no ego about it. It’s something I’ve done before," he explained. "Like I was just saying, any way possible I can help this team achieve the goal we set out in spring training, the goal that every team sets out to achieve. If I could help us achieve it, I don’t really care what the role is."
