Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

Red Sox Get Bleak Garrett Crochet News

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Ezra Lombardi | Last updated Jun 10, 2026 6:51 PM ET

The hits just keep coming for the Boston Red Sox.

After dropping the series finale in Tampa Bay to seal a sweep and finish their AL East road trip 1-4, the flailing club received an unnerving update on their ace Garrett Crochet.

Crochet has not started a game for the Sox since Alex Cora and six of his assistants were fired in Baltimore on April 25th. At the time, the reported left shoulder inflammation was brushed off as insignificant by the left-hander, and he eyed a minimum stint on the injured list.

From there he worked slowly but consistently through his rehab, completing a simulated inning on May 26th before a setback shut him down right before making a crucial step forward in throwing a live batting practice at Fenway Park.

The new ailment popped up as lat tightness, something that Crochet and the team again minimized following an MRI that officially revealed a "very low-grade" lat strain. While the new injury was clearly going to delay his progress, there was still optimism that he was dealing with a minor injury.

Now, 46 days after his last start, the outlook does not look nearly as good for the Red Sox hurler. In a report from Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe, Crochet revealed that his lat strain is "a lot worse than what we thought" and he has "no idea" when he will be able to throw again.

News from @PeteAbe: Garrett Crochet told the Globe that his lat strain “is a lot worse than what we thought” and he has “no idea” when he might get cleared to throw.https://t.co/HsuaKJC8jE
— Tim Healey (@timbhealey) June 10, 2026

Crochet, who was recently transferred to the 60-Day IL, was already ineligible to return until late June. Now, it is clear that he is facing an even longer road to recovery and likely won't be seen on the mound until well after the All-Star break.

Losing both Crochet and Roman Anthony for such a crucial chunk of the season has been an insurmountable blow for the Red Sox, who have bottomed out to 12 games below .500 for the first time since 1997. Shockingly, pitching hasn't been the biggest error in Boston's ways despite Crochet on the IL and Brayan Bello demoted to Triple-A.

In their stead, the team has been forced to lean on young left-handers Payton Tolle, Connelly Early, and Jake Bennett. The trio has looked good, but remains unsupported by the floundering Red Sox offense.

The dimming hope of a mid-season turnaround that fuels a Wild Card push was always contingent on the return of Crochet and Anthony. With no clear timeline on either, the 27-39 Red Sox may be out of answers for how to dig themselves out of this unfathomably grim position.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: