Would Sox move Crochet to the 'pen? 'We’d be foolish not to consider that'

This story was excerpted from Ian Browne’s Red Sox Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

BOSTON -- For Garrett Crochet the spectator, watching what he termed “the craziest run I’ve ever [expletive] heard of” is rather exciting.

But for Crochet the competitor, it pains him not to be a part of a surreal surge that has swelled to a 25-3 mark since July 3 and a 30-5 roar since June 25.

And that’s what is driving Crochet, who hasn’t pitched since April 25 due to a left shoulder injury that wound up being more severe than anyone expected.

He very much wants to be a part of it, and that’s why it was significant that the ace was able to at last reinitiate a throwing program at the beginning of this week.

A few weeks back, Crochet mentioned that he felt like he was in a race against time. Now, he feels like he might win that race and contribute at some point before the regular season ends, and, ideally, into the playoffs.

“I do feel good about it,” said Crochet. “I don’t have one specific day in mind, but I generally feel good about it.”

What if pitching out of the bullpen, something he did in college and early in his Major League career, could expedite his return?

“That ultimately comes from [chief baseball officer Craig Breslow] and the rest of the front office. When it comes to throwing programs and buildup, I don’t know how many innings I’m going to be able to build up to,” Crochet said. “I haven’t taken a true formal look at the throwing program. Honestly, that’s still up in the air. That’s not really in my court.”

Interim manager Chad Tracy suggested that the bullpen idea is indeed on the table.

“If he’s healthy and right, and he looks like Garrett Crochet, I think we’d be foolish not to consider that,” Tracy said before Thursday night’s series finale against the White Sox.

Tracy went on to say that stretching Crochet out to six innings or so -- if he even returns -- is “probably not feasible.”

While Crochet figures to lead Boston’s rotation for years to come, he knows that this isn’t the time to be picky about his role. He just wants to get healthy enough to have one.

“There’s no ego about it. It’s something I’ve done before,” Crochet said. “If there’s any way possible I can help this team achieve the goal we set out in Spring Training, the goal that every team sets out to achieve, if I could help us achieve it, I don’t really care what the role is.

“I’ve been on the sidelines for three months, and they’ve been killing it, and it just makes me hungrier and hungrier to want to join and just contribute, because these guys have stepped up and posted all year. It’d be nice to help.”

Crochet has several steps to clear before he can start a Minor League rehab assignment.

His throwing program is in the infancy stages, starting with the 30 pitches he threw at a distance of roughly 60 feet on Monday.

“Super moderate, just being smooth,” said Crochet. “I hadn’t picked up a ball in -- what was it -- a month? I actually felt really good. I feel strong. I felt like this past month, we really cleaned up a lot of things through specific muscle patterning and strength in general, so it feels very comfortable.”