The Boston Red Sox placed ace Garrett Crochet on the 15-day injured list with inflammation in his pitching shoulder, the latest early season setback for the star left-hander.
The Red Sox announced the roster move before Wednesday afternoon's game against the Blue Jays in Toronto. Utility man Nate Eaton was recalled from Triple-A Worcester in a corresponding roster move.
Crochet, 26, is off to a rocky start in his second season in Boston. The two-time All-Star has a 6.30 ERA over his first six starts, including an outing in Minnesota two weeks ago when he allowed a career-worst 10 earned runs against the Twins.
Crochet told reporters Wednesday he is "pretty confident" that he will return to Boston's rotation when he is eligible to be activated from the IL. He added that the Red Sox decided on the IL move after a conversation with chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and the team's medical staff.
"It just makes more sense to get ahead of it now so I'm not playing catch-up the rest of the season," he said, according to MassLive.com. "It's tough. ... Ultimately, what good is that doing for the team if I'm just kicking the can down the road?"
Crochet most recently pitched six shutout innings Saturday against the Baltimore Orioles and reported no health issues after the game. The Red Sox fired manager Alex Cora and multiple coaches later that day.
Crochet said Wednesday that he started feeling "fatigue" in his left shoulder during his start in Baltimore. He also noted that he has continued to throw despite the shoulder inflammation.
"We saw some pretty good development over the course of the past three days," Crochet said, according to MassLive.com. "The plan is just to continue to challenge it while also giving it time to recover."
The 6-foot-6 Crochet becomes the latest Red Sox starting pitcher to head to the 15-day IL, joining Sonny Gray (hamstring). The Red Sox (12-18), who entered Wednesday last in the AL East, have not named a replacement for Crochet's next turn in the rotation Friday.
The Red Sox traded for Crochet in December 2024 and signed him to a six-year, $170 million contract in March 2025. He went 18-5 with a 2.59 ERA last season, when he was the runner-up for the AL Cy Young Award.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
