Latest news with #GarrettCrochet
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Red Sox Garrett Crochet settles in after rocky first; ‘I still had a lot of game left'
BOSTON — A night that ended well for the Red Sox didn't start that way for starter Garrett Crochet. Facing the Los Angeles Dodgers, Crochet was ambushed for a solo homer by leadoff hitter Shohei Ohtani. That, in itself, wasn't great cause for concern — Ohtani has 10 leadoff homers this year alone, and Crochet has twice previously been taken deep by the leadoff hitter this season. But a handful of pitches later, Teoscar Hernandez homered, too, giving the Dodgers a 2-0 lead three batters in. 'I made two bad pitches,' Crochet would say with a shrug later. 'I've been watching them on repeat, too. Fox has played them 30 times. You'd think the Dodgers won tonight. But, no real adjustment. 'The second one hurt. I went into the start telling (catcher Carlos Narvaez), 'Let's really establish the four-seam today.' I got clipped on one, middle-middle, to the best hitter in the league (Ohtani)...big whoop. But then to give one up (to Hernandez) on the sweeper after not really establishing the 'four' yet, that's one that I regret a little bit. But I was 15 pitches deep after the first. I still had a lot of game left, personally, and especially for the team.' 'Solo shots, we'll take those,' said Alex Cora. 'And then after that, he did an amazing job. He's versatile enough that he can change his gameplan throughout the evening. It seemed like they were on the fastball early on. There were some loud outs, even in the second inning. But then after that, he settled down and gave us what we needed.' Crochet had reason to dismiss the two homers — the Dodgers didn't score again off him over the next five innings as the Red Sox earned a 4-2 victory. In fact, never mind scoring — the Dodgers only twice more had a baserunner in scoring position. With the win, his 12th, tying him with Milwaukee's Freddy Peralta for the most in either league, Crochet lowered his ERA to 2.23, becoming only the third pitcher in franchise history to post a sub-2.25 ERA with 175 or more strikeouts in the first 22 games of any season. The others? Pedro Martinez (2000) and Chris Sale (2018). Crochet enjoyed the playoff-like atmosphere at Fenway, and in particular, being matched up with Dodger legend Clayton Kershaw. In the past, Crochet has taken the familiar position that he doesn't pitch against the opposing pitcher, but he acknowledged that it was hard to ignore against whom he was pitching. 'Him and (Chris) Sale, specifically (I followed when I was younger),' said Crochet. 'Definitely watched him growing up, for sure. There are certain times where you do feel like you're matching against the other pitcher, and unanimous Hall of Famer definitely. That's the case. I just tried to reel it back in and make sure it was more (about) me and their nine hitters.' In his first (and likely last) regular season start at Fenway, Kershaw couldn't hold the lead for long. The Red Sox took the lead back quickly in the second with three runs and added another in the fifth as they chased him. Meanwhile, Crochet found another gear. The four hits he yielded after the first were all singles. Twice, LA got a baserunner to third, but both times, Crochet dug in, twice fanning Ohtani to strand the runners: once in the second and again in the fourth. He finished with 14th quality start of the season and his eighth straight winning decision, the longest for a Red Sox starter since Michael Wacha in 2022. In front of a sellout crowd, Crochet drew on the Fenway energy. 'I think that we saw it when New York came to town as well,' he said. 'Honestly, I feel like we've been seeing it the past month-plus. It seems like every weekend here it's sold-out and very lively. It's a great crowd to play in front of, to be sure.' More Red Sox coverage Red Sox lineup has new rookie leadoff man, Jarren Duran in heart of order in rubber game vs. Dodgers Red Sox' Jarren Duran not stressing about trade deadline; 'I love this team' Some Things I Think I Think: It's time for Red Sox to go for it at trade deadline Red Sox' Alex Cora: 'I've never seen anything like that. Credit to them' Red Sox reactions: Jarren Duran triples twice, Garrett Crochet K's 10 in win Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Red Sox, mindful of workload, push Garrett Crochet's turn back a few days
MINNEAPOLIS — Underscoring his importance to the team and its chances for reaching the postseason, the Red Sox are planning to give ace Garrett Crochet a few additional days of rest before his next outing. Crochet, who pitched last Saturday against the Dodgers, would ordinarily have been scheduled to go Friday when the Red Sox begin a brief six-game homestand. Instead, Crochet will next pitch on either Monday or Tuesday, to ensure that he has some extra time between starts. Crochet, who was last season limited in his workload by his former team, the Chicago White Sox, has never pitched more than 146 innings in a single season. To date this year, his first with the Sox, he's at 141.1 innings, the most of any pitcher in the majors. 'This is something we've been talking about for a while here,' said Alex Cora, 'kind of like give him a breather. So we'll do that. This is the plan we had before (this week). We decided to do it.' Crochet either leads or is tied for the MLB lead in innings pitched, strikeouts, and starts and is third in ERA. He's also shown no signs of fatigue despite approaching his career high in innings before August. 'It's huge. He's posted. He's done an outstanding job,' said Cora. 'There was one outing (in May against the Mets) that we planned accordingly, a short one (limiting him to 85 pitches). The other ones have been full-go. That's the thing - he'd actually rather (have a few extra days) instead of going 80 pitches in one outing. So we've talked about it as a group and we brought it during the week.' Crochet is understanding of the team's thinking and believes the extra few days can be beneficial. 'It's a good time to catch my breath a little bit,' said Crochet. 'Not really a de-load, but a little bit so in that sense. I kind of knew, throughout the season, that we would try to find extra rest for me if we could. I'd like a five-day (routine), but I appreciate the front office and the managerial staff looking out for me.' Crochet is unsure if this will be the last time the rotation is rearranged some to provide him with more bounce-back time. 'I think realistically, it kind of depends, as we get into August and September, what we're looking like as far as the postseason picture,' he said. 'But before we really get into the heat of August and September, while the off-days are still kind to us and we're able to do this without throwing everybody else off schedule as well, it benefits me and I feel like if you're benefitting anybody, you're ultimately benefitting the team.' Crochet said he's holding up under the workload, even as he ventures into territory he's never before visited. 'I've been feeling really good,' he said. 'Last year, I didn't know what to expect. This year, I went into the break with 20 more innings than last year but felt a little bit better than I expected, to be honest with you. And that's kind of held true throughout the season for me. '(I'm at a point that I'm) knowing what I actually need at this point in my career, whereas last year I didn't really know what I needed to do. I was just kind of throwing it together on the fly. This year, I've really stuck to it.' A key, Crochet said, is 'kind of listening to my body as best I can. I definitely still like to have a good base of strength going into starts. But there are four or six-week cycles in the weight room, you kind of alternate between power output, speed output and then resting. So, it's kind of wherever that falls.' Crochet confirmed he would rather have extra days rather than having his pitch count limited as it was for the one game in May. 'One hundred percent,' he said. '(Shortening an outing), you're kind of putting people in an awkward spot whereas now, whether someone comes up and makes a start or because of the off-day, we're able to bump everybody up and keep everyone else on a five-day (schedule). I feel guilty doing it to the guys, but that's where we're all here for - to pick each other up and pull for one another,' More Red Sox coverage Red Sox trade rumors: Boston among several teams 'prominently in' on Twins closer (report) Ex-Red Sox pitcher traded to Angels, starting third stint with team (report) Fenway Insider Live: Submit questions for MassLive's Sean McAdam MLB Trade Deadline 2025 tracker: Eugenio Suárez market heating up; What will Red Sox do? Alex Bregman scratched after being in original Red Sox lineup for Wednesday matinee Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Red Sox scratch All-Star, adjust ace's schedule, signaling expected deadline deal
The Boston Red Sox made a couple of last-minute lineup changes prior to the start of this afternoon's game against Minnesota, hinting at a potential trade before the deadline. Sox manager Alex Cora announced that All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman was scratched from today's lineup due to being "a little bit tired" on the heels of last night's victory over the Twins. Bregman went 1 for 5 with two runs scored in that game. In another possibly related move, Sox ace Garrett Crochet will no longer start on Friday as scheduled, according to MassLive Red Sox insider Chris Cotillo. Instead, his start will be pushed to Monday or Tuesday. "This is a plan we had before," Cora said. "We talked about it as a group. We brought it up during the week. ... Yeah, [he's] 100% [understanding of the plan]." NESN analyst Lou Merloni believes the decision to push back Crochet's start could be related to a trade for a pitcher who is scheduled to start on Friday -- namely, Arizona Diamondbacks ace Merrill Kelly. Kelly's next scheduled start for the Diamondbacks is Friday against the Oakland Athletics. MORE MLB NEWS: Astros trade talks with Cardinals include Nolan Arenado despite offseason veto Tigers contacted Pirates about 2.37 ERA two-time All-Star closer Astros eyeing Padres 4.79 ERA starter as primary trade target Ryan Helsley open to re-signing with Cardinals in free agency amid trade rumors Padres among teams vying for Guardians All-Star, Gold Glove outfielder Guardians predicted to trade former Cy Young starter to Cubs
New York Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Craig Breslow isn't shy about dealing Red Sox top prospects. Here's who may be next
MINNEAPOLIS – With a deep prospect pool and a desire to hold onto their young big-league core, the Boston Red Sox may opt to trade from their farm system this week. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has shown in the past he's willing to do so. On the final day of Winter Meetings, Breslow swung the Garrett Crochet trade, sending the club's two most recent first-rounders at the time in catcher Kyle Teel and outfielder Braden Montgomery, both top 100 prospects, to Chicago as part of a four-player package for Crochet. It marked a deal that's shaped their 2025 season in many ways. Advertisement That same December day, he sent one of Boston's top-20 pitching prospects, Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz, to the Yankees in exchange for catcher Carlos Narváez, who at the time was a little known rookie. Narváez has had a breakout season and become Boston's starter behind the plate. At the deadline last summer, Breslow traded multiple Rule 5 eligible players, including 2020 first-rounder infielder Nick Yorke. Even with Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell graduating from prospect status, the Red Sox system is still viewed by many evaluators as one of the league's strongest. Meanwhile, Boston's trade-deadline strategy may have shifted in recent days. Though the club has a surplus of young, big-league outfielders, there's some debate whether the team is still willing to trade from that group, particularly now that infielder Mayer's wrist injury has forced outfielder Ceddanne Rafaela to second base. That has made Jarren Duran, whose name has been popular in trade rumors, even more valuable to the Red Sox, with one National League evaluator suggesting an offseason trade of Duran may be more likely. The Red Sox had been rolling with wins in three of their last four games before a walk-off, 5-4 loss to the Twins on Monday in a rain-delayed game. What they acquire at the deadline remains to be seen, but they are likely to trade from their minor-league pool between now and Thursday at 6 p.m. Here's a look at who might in the mix: Tolle, Boston's second-round pick in 2024, has emerged as the best arm in the system, and owns a 1.96 ERA in five games, four starts, since being promoted to Double A earlier this year. In High A, he had posted a 3.62 ERA across 11 starts. A big, physical lefty, Tolle is the type of pitcher the Red Sox would love to further develop and have in their rotation for years to come. But Breslow has noted the desire to make the postseason this year. If trading Tolle can help get the Red Sox a proven, big-league controllable starter, it's something they'd have to consider, but likely the only situation in which they'd consider trading him. Advertisement Likelihood: low If the Red Sox are hesitant to trade from their group of big league outfielders, Garcia has little pathway to the majors. But as the No. 46 prospect in baseball per The Athletic's Keith Law, he's likely to garner significant interest from teams. The 22-year-old has an OPS close to .900 in roughly 50 games since being promoted to Triple A. He may be Boston's biggest trade chip for any team seeking a close-to-big-league ready position player. Likelihood: high Campbell could use more of a chance to prove himself after being demoted to Triple A in June, especially after signing a team-friendly eight-year, $60 million deal this spring. The Red Sox may still give him that chance. However, it was telling that they decided not to call him back up from Triple A when Mayer went on the injury list. Campbell wouldn't be traded easily, but as part of a package to a team looking for young, big-league ready position players, Campbell could fit. Likelihood: medium Law's No. 9 overall prospect, Arias is the highest Red Sox player in his current rankings. He has immense potential but is at least two or three years away from the majors. For a rebuilding team looking to sell, Arias would be a key trade piece. The 19-year-old is hitting .280 with a .714 OPS in 81 games between Single A and High A. Again, trading him wouldn't be easy, but with Mayer expected to be the shortstop of the future, the Red Sox could use Arias now to headline a package for a controllable starter. Likelihood: medium Early is another promising young starter in the system, drafted in the fifth round in 2023. After posting a 2.51 ERA in 15 games, 12 starts, with a 32 percent strikeout rate, he was promoted to Triple A this week. If the Red Sox don't want to budge on Tolle, there's likely to be plenty of interest in Early. Likelihood: medium Similar to Early, Sandlin was promoted to Triple A this week after posting a 3.61 ERA in 17 games, 13 starts, with a 25 percent strikeout rate at Double A. The caveat here, though, is that Sandlin is Rule 5 eligible this offseason, meaning he would have to be added to the 40-man roster or be subject to the Rule 5 Draft. He's the type of pitcher the Red Sox are likely to add to the roster for pitching depth – if they don't trade him this week. Advertisement Likelihood: medium Though the Red Sox have needed first base help much of the season since Triston Casas' injury, they've yet to promote Jordan, which suggests trading him is on the table. That's especially the case since he's Rule 5 eligible this winter. Jordan is known for his raw power, but his offense dropped off a bit when promoted to Triple A earlier this year. He had posted a .928 OPS in 44 games in Double A but has an .808 OPS through 43 games in a very hitter friendly Polar Park at Triple A. Likelihood: high As a Rule 5 eligible outfielder, Bleis also seems likely to be traded. Injuries have interrupted his career at multiple points, but he once was a top 5 player in the system. He's still just 21 and in High A, but could be part of a big package for a team looking to take a flier on a player with equal parts risk and potential. Likelihood: high (Top photo of Kristian Campbell: Eric Canha /Imagn Images)
New York Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Red Sox beat Dodgers, hope to convince front office to add at trade deadline
BOSTON — With five days until the trade deadline, the Boston Red Sox remain in a familiar position as in recent years, sitting in contention for a wild-card spot, hoping the team adds instead of remaining idle. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow vowed in mid-June after the Rafael Devers trade that he would still bolster the team at the deadline. Now it's crunch time, and despite a 2-5 record with a tough schedule coming out of the All-Star break, another commanding win Saturday gave Breslow more reason to fortify the club. Advertisement Garrett Crochet held the Los Angeles Dodgers to two solo homers and struck out 10 while Boston's offense knocked Clayton Kershaw out in the fifth inning on rookie Roman Anthony's RBI double in a come-from-behind 4-2 win over the National League West division leaders. 'These are teams you've got to beat to show what you're going to be the rest of the year,' said Jarren Duran, who had a 3-for-4 night with two triples. 'I think it's awesome to face these really good teams, because you want to see what you're made of.' Though the Red Sox need to add to the rotation behind their ace Crochet, he agreed it's important for the team to show what it can do. 'Right now, we're in a position where, 'Let's play as well as we can up to that point, but we're not going to stop there, regardless of what we do at the deadline,' he said. 'It's not going to change the mentality of the guys in the clubhouse.' The past few seasons, Red Sox teams have shown potential only to stall after the break with few reliable additions. There's belief among the current group in their ability, but also the reality of what a few extra players could mean for the stretch run. 'I think naturally, you see we're holding a wild-card spot, and we know how good that we've played,' shortstop Trevor Story said. 'It gives us reason to believe we're going to make some nice moves and just bolster our team a little bit.' Jarren's first career 2-triple game! ⚡️ — Red Sox (@RedSox) July 27, 2025 Against the Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies and the Dodgers, the Red Sox have tallied just three wins but have not been blown out, outscored 25-33 while playing competitive baseball in a tough stretch. 'You look at the Philly series and obviously, they're a great team with a great staff, that's the type of pitching we're gonna be facing when it comes to playing the playoffs,' Story said. 'When we're down 5-0 facing a sweep against a really good team, to come back and show our toughness there, I think goes a long way.' Advertisement Losses are losses, but there's parity in the American League. The Red Sox have not gained any ground in the standings since the break, but they also haven't lost any, either, remaining in the exact spot as they entered the break, holding on to the second wild-card spot. Meanwhile, the Detroit Tigers are spiraling, losing 11 of 12 games, and the New York Yankees lost Aaron Judge to the injured list Saturday, making the AL seemingly more open. The Tampa Bay Rays are 6-14 in July, and The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal noted Saturday that the Rays might be willing to trade first baseman/designated hitter Yandy Diaz. As Rosenthal noted, the veteran right-handed hitter would be a strong fit for the Red Sox, who, while prioritizing pitching, could use another bat after infielder Marcelo Mayer's injury. Romy Gonzalez and Abraham Toro have filled in well at first in Triston Casas' absence, but adding a power right-handed bat (Diaz has 17 homers) at first would strengthen the club. With Mayer out, Gonzalez is likely to see more time at second base alongside Ceddanne Rafaela. The Red Sox know they need to keep playing better baseball and are convinced their team can compete, but even the mental energy of the front office investing in the team at the deadline can boost a club. Cora didn't mince words before the break when noting the disappointment of recent years. 'When teams add and you stay put, other teams get better,' Cora said. 'It's not that you got worse. It's just that other teams took a step forward, and we haven't done that in a few years here.' Saturday, Cora was diplomatic, saying that all 30, if asked, would say they want to add at the deadline. The Red Sox are trying to prove they can make a push. 'I think we can get it done with the group that we have here, but it takes a lot of depth and it takes experience,' Story said. 'We have a little bit of that. We have some youth, too. I think if you ask anybody, we expect some moves to happen. What they are? I don't know. But reinforcements for sure, just to bolster us for a deep run.' (Photo of Alex Cora and Jarren Duran: Winslow Townson / Getty Images)
