Garrett Crochet on September 22 took another step toward his much-anticipated return to the Boston Red Sox. Boston's ace tossed a 16 pitch live batting practice session at Fenway Park with promising results.
Crochet's velocity sat in the 94-96 miles per hour range, a promising development following his 92 mile per hour average in the side session he threw on September 19. Crochet told reporters he feels like he could "go get outs" following the BP session (via Chris Cotillo of MassLive).
Despite the progress in his recovery, Crochet left some room for doubt about his expected return during the postseason.
“For me to take a spot on the roster, then someone would have to lose one, and I would feel bad doing that because this team's pitched their ass off the whole season,” Crochet said, according to Christopher Smith of MassLive.
Garrett Crochet leaves room for doubt about Red Sox return following live BP session due to loaded roster
Garrett Crochet throwing live BP pic.twitter.com/SJGFq4jr5S
— Ari Alexander (@AriA1exander) September 22, 2026
Crochet also noted that whether he returns remains up to Craig Breslow. The Red Sox might not want to risk throwing Crochet into the heat of playoff action when he hasn't pitched in a game since April 25 — he won't get to go on a rehab assignment as the Triple-A season ended on September 20.
The Red Sox have for months known that Crochet would only be able to return as a reliever for a maximum of two innings at a time. The bullpen has been one of Boston's biggest strengths all season and it's posted a 3.09 ERA as a team, the best metric in MLB. Adding Crochet into the mix and removing someone else could change the chemistry of the roster that has performed so well without the ace all year.
Yet, Crochet has relief experience that can't be ignored. His career began as a reliever with the Chicago White Sox, where he pitched out of the bullpen until the 2024 season when they converted him into a starter. Young Crochet posted a 2.71 ERA, 1.329 WHIP, 85 strikeouts and 40 walks over 73 innings across parts of three seasons with the White Sox
While changing the bullpen the Red Sox know right at playoff time is risky, Crochet is one of the best pitchers in the game and he was a talented reliever back when that was his job. There are a few players the Red Sox can afford to part with for the postseason push, including Patrick Sandoval, who isn't going to have a spot in the rotation.
Crochet could just be a humble guy who wanted to give his teammates credit for their turnaround while he was injured, or his comments could foretell real considerations that he and Breslow are making about his return. The Red Sox and fans don't have to wait long to figure out which is true since they have six regular season games remaining.
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