How Red Sox are changing Garrett Crochet’s between-start routine to make sure he’s ‘a horse’ down the stretch

BOSTON — Garrett Crochet has at least two regular season starts left before what the Red Sox hope is a long run of him anchoring their rotation in October. With that in mind — as well as the fact Crochet has already thrown 191 ⅓ innings in 30 starts — Boston has allowed its ace to craft a between-starts plan that, sometimes, has looked a lot different than it did in, say, April or May.

Crochet has already thrown 45 more innings than he did last season with the White Sox, so the Red Sox are in the mode of saving bullets when they can. The 26-year-old has said he feels fine all along and there’s no reason to believe he’s not fully healthy with two weeks to go. To ensure that continues being the case, the Red Sox have tried to take some things off Crochet’s plate between outings.

In recent weeks, Crochet’s between-start side sessions have been optional — and not mandatory. That’s by design. While starters usually throw off a bullpen mound between each outing, the Red Sox are no longer requiring such a session when it comes to Crochet.

“Were limiting bullpen reps, meeting him where he’s at on given days and maximizing recovery,” said pitching coach Andrew Bailey. “Obviously, we’ll take some off the slope (the mound) when we can get there. I think it’s just prioritizing in-game reps and preparing for every fifth or sixth day.”

After two poor outings in a five-start stretch between August 11 and September 2, Crochet has returned to dominance in his last two starts. Facing the Athletics and Yankees in the last 10 days, the lefty has allowed three earned runs on eight hits in 13 innings while striking out 22 batters. He followed a 10-strikeout performance over seven shutout innings last Monday with a 12-K start against the Yankees on Sunday.

If Crochet is going to keep pitching that way, the Red Sox are going to continue to prioritize game reps, especially if Crochet is going to go on regular (four days) rest like he will Friday night against the Rays in Tampa.

“He’s a horse,” said Bailey. “We want him to take down starts whenever he’s available. It has been a pretty large sample of a really good run. For us to see that stuff the other night on such a big stage against New York, it’s great at this time of year.”

On Tuesday, two days removed from his last outing and three days before his next one, Crochet didn’t do any work in the bullpen at Fenway Park. He played catch and did some plyometric drills instead. It would be a mild surprise to see Crochet get any reps from the rubber before facing off against the Rays at Steinbrenner Field as Boston opens its final road trip of the year Friday.

“There have been times where we’ve done it. There have been times when we haven’t,” said Bailey. “Some of it is, ‘It’s a day game, do we really even want to start the engine?’ It’s more predicated on outside factors. He didn’t do one last time (before the Yankees start). When we can get the extra day, we’re maximizing the off day.

“It’s nothing new. It’s something a lot of starters do throughout the course of the season. There’s some undulation there. We’re just meeting him where he’s at.”

As things currently stand, with the Red Sox in position to reach the postseason for the first time since 2021, Crochet would be available to pitch Game 1 of a potential Wild Card Series on September 30. After the Rays outing, he’d project to pitch again in Toronto on September 25, then be ready to go for the playoffs.

The Red Sox know Crochet will almost certainly blow past 200 innings in the regular season and they hope he’ll add dozens to that total in the postseason. To get him there, they’re comfortable shutting things down from a practice perspective.

“We understand that it’s the most innings he has ever thrown in his career,” Bailey said. “We rely on communication, his feedback, how he’s doing and all that good stuff. Just taking it one start at a time.”