Garrett Crochet reached an important milestone in his road to recovery on Tuesday, facing live hitters on the mound at Fenway Park for the first time since his ill-fated comeback attempt in late May.
Throwing live batting practice against Ceddanne Rafaela, the Red Sox ace threw 16 pitches, one more than originally planned because he spiked a changeup into the dirt on what was supposed to be his final pitch. The left-hander said he was able to ramp up his intensity to a level he hadn’t reached yet, that his fastball was in the 94-96 mph range, and that following the session he got good feedback from Rafaela.
With that crucial box checked, could Crochet’s next time on the mound come in a game setting? Crochet said it’s too soon to say, but he’s cautiously optimistic about his ability to do so.
“You don’t know until you know I suppose. I would say the way that live just went that I could go get outs,” Crochet said. “It depends, obviously, what role they want me in, like I said it’s not really for me to say, I know myself and I know my body, and the biggest thing is that I felt good out there.”
Crochet has missed the majority of the season due to left shoulder inflammation, which landed him on the injured list in late April after only six starts. What was originally believed to be a short-term injury wound up sidelining Crochet for five months and counting, but after Tuesday’s session there remains a possibility Crochet could factor into the postseason equation for the Red Sox out of the bullpen.
That will be up to chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and manager Chad Tracy, Crochet was sure to emphasize.
“This team has had a great year, I think 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 has pitched their (butts) off the whole season,” Crochet said. “Ultimately that’s going to be something that’s up to the front office and whenever they gauge that I’m ready then I’ll accept that, and in the meantime I’m just going to keep working my butt off.”
Tracy said he was encouraged by Crochet’s outing, noting that his velocity is climbing and the spin on his pitches looked sharp. The next step will be seeing how his body recovers in the upcoming days and mapping out a plan for the weekend.
“What that looks like now, I don’t know,” Tracy said. “I just know that whatever it is it’s going to be done with Garrett’s best interest in mind.”
Typically the next stage in a throwing progression after throwing live batting practice would be to start a rehab assignment, but given that the minor league season ended this past weekend, that isn’t an option for Crochet. Time also isn’t on the left-hander’s side, so if Crochet is going to pitch in a game before the playoffs, he would have to be activated at some point over the final homestand.
Tracy said those are all factors the club is considering, and while he believes Crochet would be up for the challenge of jumping right into a playoff series, they have to be realistic about where he’s at when it comes time to decide who will be on the playoff roster.
“Knowing the player, if he was healthy and we felt he could he’d probably be like ‘I’m not going to be afraid of that,’” Tracy said. “That being said, we have to consider it and just be very mindful of what are we potentially exposing him to and what can he give us, really? Understanding you don’t want to leave yourself short, so for me it’s been step by step, the next step would be sometime this weekend, let’s see what that entails, and we’ll go from there.”
Rafaela, Contreras getting close
Ceddanne Rafaela (right quad strain) and Willson Contreras (bruised right hand) remain sidelined with their respective injuries, but Tracy said both are getting close to a return.
“(Rafaela) is doing much better, we’re getting close there, and Willson’s also doing much better, he was able to swing pretty aggressively in the cage again today,” Tracy said, adding that Rafaela was scheduled to run and Contreras was set to take batting practice on the field. “(We’ll) let them get through their whole day, see where they’re at and assess, but I think we’re getting pretty close with both of them.”
Staying ready
With the minor league season finished the Red Sox have sent a contingent of players who may potentially factor into the club’s plans the rest of the way to Fort Myers so they can stay ready in the event they’re needed.
Tracy did not have the full list of players available when asked Tuesday, but some of those headed to Fort Myers include pitchers Tanner Houck, Johan Oviedo, Jedixson Paez, Tyler Samaniego and Wyatt Olds, infielders Romy Gonzalez, Franklin Arias and Tsung-Che Cheng, and outfielder Braiden Ward.
Veteran catcher Tomas Nido has also come up from Worcester to serve as an extra catcher on the taxi squad for the Red Sox.
Extra innings
The Red Sox announced Eli White underwent successful Lisfranc repair surgery on his right foot Tuesday. The procedure was performed by Dr. Martin O’Malley at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. … Aroldis Chapman (lat tightness) is feeling much better but is still a day or two away from a return to the mound. … Curtis Mead (fractured left wrist) has resumed swinging a regular bat and is taking overhand batting practice, but while the Red Sox haven’t ruled out a possible return, Tracy acknowledged that time isn’t on his side.