After months of waiting and recovery, the Boston Red Sox may finally get Garrett Crochet back right when they need him most. The ace has traveled with the team to Yankee Stadium to be ready for the Wild Card series.
But the Red Sox have left plenty of room for doubt about whether Crochet will be ready or active in time to face the New York Yankees. Crochet hasn't pitched in the major leagues since April 25 and he hasn't made a rehab assignment, since the Triple-A season ended on September 20, but he feels ready to go.
"I've been feeling good, I guess now it's just a matter of if anybody agrees with me," Crochet said to reporters on September 28. "...I've been busting my tail just to kind of give myself a fighting chance and I feel like I did that. Like I said, now it's just waiting for the roster to come out."
Crochet is one of the only players from the Fort Myers prep squad that the Red Sox brought with them. His fellow rehabbing pitcher Johan Oviedo stayed behind, as did Curtis Mead. This seems like it bodes well for Crochet's chances of being activated, but manager Chad Tracy didn't have a straight answer about his availability.
Red Sox brought Garrett Crochet to New York but haven't said for sure if he'll be active for Wild Card round
"...That's up in the air," Tracy said of Crochet's usage in his September 28 pre-series presser. "...We know where he's at, we know he's worked really hard to get everything back strong the way it needs to be, but we're still going to be evaluating him daily to see where he's at, so I can't answer on knowing that if we were to activate him that would mean he's available to pitch, whether [he'd be] able to pitch again this series, I don't know the answer to that yet."
There have been some concerns with Crochet's recovery this season, including low velocity numbers in one of his first September side sessions. When it came time to face actual batters, Crochet ticked up to a more comforting 96 miles per hour. But the main concern is that he hasn't appeared in a game in five months and rust is risky in win-or-go-home situations.
Crochet has pitched in relief before with the Chicago White Sox and excelled in the role. The Red Sox could use the lefty bullpen depth after Justin Slaten's season ended early and Erik Miller's mechanical issues.
Tracy should trust his gut. If the Red Sox think Crochet is ready, activate him to mow the Yankees down for an inning or two. If they don't think he's ready, activating him isn't worth the risk. Red Sox fans will have to wait until the day of Game 1 to find out what Tracy decides.
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