TORONTO - There is never a boring moment with these Red Sox.
After a few days of organizational chaos thanks to the dismissal of manager Alex Cora and five coaches, the Sox were saddled with some more uneasy and unexpected news. The team placed Garrett Crochet on the injured list with left shoulder inflammation (retroactive to April 26), calling up utilityman Nate Eaton to take his place on the active roster.
It is expected that Jake Bennett will be promoted from Triple-A Worcester to get the Friday start at Fenway Park.
Crochet said he experienced the discomfort in his most recent start, which saw the ace throw six shutout innings in Baltimore. There had been signs, however, that he wasn’t himself thanks to both a sporadic dip in velocity and two of the worst starts of his career earlier this month.
“Just some fatigue I was feeling in my last start,” Crochet said, prior to the Red Sox's series finale against the Blue Jays on Wednesday afternoon. "Was able to grind through it there at the end. It just makes more sense to get ahead of it now so I’m not playing catch-up the rest of the season.
"It’s tough. Talked to Bres (Craig Breslow) and Brandon (head athletic trainer Brandon Henry) yesterday about trying to push through and ultimately, what good is that doing for the team if I’m just kicking the can down the road?"
Crochet said he had not undergone any imaging on his shoulder and that it wasn't nearly as serious as when he missed three months in 2023 due to shoulder inflammation.
