After the shocking news that Garrett Crochet was headed to the injured list, the Boston Red Sox and their new interim manager Chad Tracy called Triple-A utility player Nate Eaton up to take his roster spot.
Eaton's moment back in the big leagues was short — he didn't appear in Boston's April 29 game before it shipped him back out to Worcester. The Red Sox need Eaton's roster spot to fill their May 1 start against the Houston Astros, which would've been made by Crochet if he were healthy.
The move is not yet official, but the Red Sox are expected to call top pitching prospect Jake Bennett up to start in Crochet's stead, according to multiple sources. Boston acquired Bennett this offseason in a rare one-for-one top prospect swap with the Washington Nationals, who landed Luis Perales in the deal.
Bennett, 25, doesn't have any major league experience and his expected Friday start will be his debut. Bennett hadn't appeared in Triple-A before he arrived in Boston, but he's made easy work of his innings in Worcester so far. He's posted a 0.86 ERA, a 0.71 WHIP, 16 strikeouts and three walks over 21 innings.
Red Sox send Nate Eaton back to Triple-A in preparation to call top prospect Jake Bennett up to start against Astros
The young lefty has an arsenal of six pitches he uses pretty equally. He relies on his sinker and four-seamer over 25% of the time, his changeup over 20% and his cutter and curveball over 13% of the time. He's barely thrown his slider so far. His changeup has been deadly this year, with a 38.20 whiff rate and a .086 xBA.
Bennett's fastball velocity has ticked up this year, with perceived velocity of around 94 miles per hour. His command is elite and he ranks in the 91st percentile in walk rate.
Despite Bennett's relative inexperience at the higher levels of the minor leagues, the Red Sox are forced to turn to him after Crochet's injury. Two of Boston's other rotation options, Sonny Gray and Johan Oviedo, are also on the IL. Kutter Crawford and Patrick Sandoval have paused their rehab assignments due to other injuries that have popped up. WooSox depth starter Tyler Uberstine, who made his MLB debut in early April, is also sidelined with shoulder soreness.
Bennett will soon be one of the many pitchers who has made their major league debut with the Red Sox this year, alongside Uberstine, Ryan Watson, Tyler Samaniego and more. His time in Boston may not last long, since the Red Sox are seemingly quite hopeful that Gray will return to the rotation after the minimum stint on the IL, but it will be exciting to see what Bennett can bring at the big league level so soon after his Triple-A debut.
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