Garrett Crochet Injury Update, Latest on Red Sox Star's Shoulder and Timeline to Return

Amid a disastrous start to the season for Garrett Crochet, the Boston Red Sox are placing their star pitcher on the 15-day injured list due to inflammation in his left shoulder.

The Red Sox announced the move on Wednesday, with it being retroactive to April 26. Nate Eaton was recalled from Triple-A to take Crochet's spot on the 26-man roster.

It's been apparent for most of the year that something is off with Crochet, though ironically his last start was arguably his best of 2026 with six shutout innings in a 17-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday.

The only other time Crochet had a scoreless outing this season was in the season opener against the Cincinnati Reds on March 26.

In four starts that sandwiched those two outings, Crochet allowed 23 runs (21 earned), 27 hits and 22 strikeouts over 18 innings. His low point came on April 13 when he gave up 11 runs (10 earned) with no strikeouts in 1.2 innings against the Minnesota Twins.

Crochet's velocity has been all over the place so far. It was noticeably down in the outing against Minnesota, but bounced back in his next start against the Detroit Tigers even though the results were still rough with five runs allowed in five innings.

Crochet told reporters after Wednesday's move that he started feeling "some fatigue" in his last start and is "pretty confident" he will only miss the minimum 15 days.

Amid a chaotic start to the season for the Red Sox, which has included firing manager Alex Cora and five other coaches after their win on Saturday, Crochet has been one of the most disappointing players on the roster so far.

The two-time All-Star finished second in AL Cy Young voting last season, setting career-highs in innings (205.1), strikeouts (255) and ERA (2.59). His 6.30 ERA this season is tied for the worst in MLB among all qualified starters.