A month after what was originally expected to be a short-term injury for Garrett Crochet, the Boston Red Sox are still a ways from getting him back. A recent setback almost made his already-unknown timeline even longer.
In the throes of his recovery from inflammation in his throwing shoulder, Crochet reported left lat tightness. Ian Browne of MLB.com reports that the secondary injury popped up after Crochet's bullpen session on May 28.
The lefty underwent scans to see if there's any structural damage to the sore lat. Imaging revealed only a low-grade strain, which aligns with what Crochet himself expected from the injury: "...it feels like a very minor setback. It doesn’t even feel fair to call it a setback because I don’t think it deserves that title," Crochet said before Boston's getaway game against the Cleveland Guardians on May 31. According to Chad Tracy, Crochet can begin throwing again when he no longer feels any pain from his lat "setback."
MRI reveals Garrett Crochet's lat injury isn't serious, but he's still a ways away from Red Sox return
Red Sox fans can exhale and be comforted that Crochet's secondary injury isn't as serious as the one that sent him to the IL in the first place. But a setback is still a setback — Crochet said he was still only in the build-up phase when his lat started acting up, meaning there will still be weeks before he can return to the rotation following the rest of his recovery process and a rehab assignment.
While it will be a while until the Red Sox see Crochet again, Garrett Whitlock has been a bit luckier in his recovery. The righty was placed on the 15-day IL, retroactive to May 25, with left knee inflammation he sustained while pitching on a wet mound during the Red Sox's recent home series against the Minnesota Twins.
Red Sox hope to activate Garrett Whitlock from IL after 15-day minimum stint, Kuter Crawford scales back baseball activities amid another setback
Multiple sources reported that Whitlock threw a side session on June 2. Tracy told reporters Whitlock "felt really good" after the session. He got a cortisone shot shortly after his injury diagnosis. The Red Sox expect to activate him after the 15-day minimum IL stint, which ends on June 9.
Unfortuantely, like Crochet, Kutter Crawford has hit another setback in his ever-lengthening recovery from multiple injuries since spring training of last year. Crawford will scale back his baseball activities after experiencing forearm tightness.
Crawford's chain of injuries began with patellar tendinopathy, then he needed wrist surgery as he neared his initial return. Lately, he's been dealing with flexor irritation.
There's no clear timeline for Crawford's return as he nears a year and a half of missed playing time. The Red Sox aren't pressed for pitching depth with the deep minor league pool of talent they've built and Patrick Sandoval's impending return as he approaches a rehab assignment, but more pitching is always better, and a healthy Crawford would give Boston quite a weapon in its depth arsenal.
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