After throwing two simulated innings yesterday in a bullpen session, injured Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet has declared himself free of the shoulder inflammation that landed him on the IL. That’s great! What’s less great is that he also declared that his mechanics are out of whack. Crochet will take a few days off, throw another bullpen over the weekend, and likely be out until early June as he works out the kinks. “I feel like everyone that goes on the IL, it’s always a little longer than they want it to be. I’m not exempt from that,” he said. “It’s definitely taken longer than I had hoped it would when I initially went on the IL, but it’s part of it. Right now, I’m just trying to be a good cheerleader.” (Alex Speier, Boston Globe)
Barring any further injuries, Crochet’s return will likely mean that someone is going to get bounced from the Red Sox rotation. If the Sox base things purely on performance, that person would unquestionably be Brayan Bello, who, after two promising appearances in a bulk role following an opener, once again struggled as a conventional starter his last time out. Manager Chad Tracy said the Sox may go back to the opener strategy for Bello, but it will be decided on a case-by-case basis, depending in large part on the health and availability of the arms in the bullpen. (Justin Turpin, WEEI)
When Garrett Crochet does return, will he return to an improved offense? Jarren Duran broke out in a big way in Kansas City over the past three days, providing some hope that Willson Contreras and Wilyer Abreu might finally get some help in the lineup. “I’m trending in the upward direction, and I’m just trying to stay simple and do stuff to help the team win,” said Duran. (Ian Browne, MLB.com)
But his bat wasn’t the only thing Duran was handling well last night, he also made a great catch at the wall. “I’m willing to get hurt to make a play for my pitchers,” he said. (Christopher Smith, MassLive)
It’s great that Duran’s willing to go all out on defense, but getting hurt wouldn’t exactly help the Red Sox at this point. And, speaking of getting hurt, Trevor Story still hasn’t decided on whether he’s getting surgery, and seems to be doing a little opinion shopping in the meantime:
With the way he was playing, an extended absence by Trevor Story wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. But it would be nice to get Roman Anthony back in the lineup, even though he may have been asked to do too much for this Red Sox team this year. (Chad Finn, Boston Globe)
