In the midst of a tumultuous week for the Boston Red Sox, the team has now placed its ace starter on the injured list.
The Red Sox announced Wednesday that Garrett Crochet is headed to the injured list with left shoulder inflammation. To fill his spot for the time being, the team has recalled infielder/outfielder Nate Eaton from Triple-A Worcester. A corresponding pitching move will be made in the upcoming days.
Crochet has had a rough start to the season, with a 6.30 ERA through six starts, though he was coming off a strong performance Saturday against the Baltimore Orioles in which he threw six scoreless innings and allowed three hits while striking out seven batters.
Crochet termed what he’s dealing with as fatigue that caught up to him.
“Just some fatigue in my last start,” he told reporters in Toronto. “Was able to grind through it at the end but it makes more sense to get ahead of it now so I’m not playing catch up the rest of the season.”
Crochet said he needs to focus on adding strength to his shoulder.
“At the end of the day I feel like it was preventable, but during the buildup (in spring training) I lost strength and never got it back,” he said.
Crochet missed one spring start and wondered if that set him back rather than helped him in the moment. He said he didn’t feel the fatigue in previous starts this season and that it only cropped up in Baltimore.
The Red Sox insisted Crochet was healthy earlier in the season after he posted his worst-career start, allowing 11 runs in 1 2/3 innings against the Minnesota Twins on April 13. He made two more starts before going to the IL.
Crochet had been scheduled to start Friday against the Houston Astros.
He said he’ll continue to play catch and build up arm strength and hopes to return to the team after the 15-day minimum on the IL. He is not scheduled to get an MRI at the moment.
On Tuesday, Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy told reporters the team would shuffle its starting rotation this weekend. In what appears to be a related move, Triple-A Worcester lefty Jake Bennett was scratched from his scheduled start Tuesday and seems like a possibility to join the Red Sox’s pitching staff.
Bennett, the No. 6 prospect in the Red Sox system according to The Athletic’s Keith Law, has posted a 0.86 ERA through five Triple-A starts, with 16 strikeouts and three walks in 21 innings.
The Red Sox traded one of their own top pitching prospects, Luis Perales, to the Washington Nationals in December to acquire Bennett.
Right-hander Sonny Gray, who has been on the injured list since April 21 with a right hamstring strain, threw a bullpen session earlier this week and is scheduled to throw another this weekend. He will be eligible to return from the IL by the middle of next week, if deemed ready.
In the immediate term, Eaton adds another position player off the bench Wednesday for the final game of Boston’s road series against the Toronto Blue Jays.