Garrett Crochet's reaction to latest injury will give Red Sox fans hope (as fears linger)

After the surprising news that the team had called Nate Eaton up to the big leagues, the Boston Red Sox announced that Garrett Crochet is headed to the injured list. He's been dealing with left shoulder inflammation, retroactive to April 26.

An injury to any pitcher is a gut-punch, but losing Crochet — even just for his 15-day IL stint — is a worst-case scenario blow for Boston. Sonny Gray and Johan Oviedo are already on the IL, rehabbing pitchers Kutter Crawford and Patrick Sandoval have had new ailments pop up and Triple-A depth arm Tyler Uberstine is also sidelined with a shoulder issue.

Fortunately for the Red Sox, Crochet is confident that he'll only need the 15 days of his IL stay to heal before he returns to action. Crochet spoke to reporters and explained his injury timeline before Boston's April 29 series finale against the Toronto Blue Jays.

"Just some fatigue that I was feeling in my last start, was able to grind through it there at the end, but kinda just makes more sense to get ahead of it now so I'm not playing catchup the rest of the season," Crochet said.

Garrett Crochet is confident he'll only need minimum IL stint before returning to Red Sox rotation

Concerns for Crochet's health have lingered this season after a few outings that were out-of-character for the ace. In his second start of the season, Crochet let up five runs (four earned) and hit two batters against the Houston Astros. Two weeks later, the then-surging Minnesota Twins got to him for 11 runs (10 earned) in the worst start of his career. His current injury may not have been a factor in his biggest losses, as he noted that he felt the fatigue during his clean outing against the Baltimore Orioles, but people will always speculate.

Crochet's confidence in his timeline is reassuring, and he's already said some of his discomfort has subsided. It's also encouraging that the Red Sox will seemingly be correct about Gray's short IL stint — the veteran believes he'll only need the minimum stay to be fully recovered from his hamstring issue and Boston agrees. The Red Sox could see Gray return to the rotation within the week.

Another positive sign is that Crochet hasn't been shut down from throwing, a sign that his injury isn't too severe. He's been playing catch since his last start and he'll be able to stay loose as he heals. He also said he has no scans scheduled, further reflecting Boston's certainty that his injury is minor.

Jake Bennett will most likely start in Crochet's place on Friday evening against the Astros. Gray will return to the rotation shortly after (if all goes according to plan), and Boston's rotation will be closer to full-strength. Hopefully, Crochet's return quickly follows.

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