Red Sox's Plan for Garrett Crochet Couldn't be Better, and Here's Why

With the postseason nearly here for the Boston Red Sox , the bigger focus isn't even on who they're going to play or how things might unfold in the wild card, but which players they're going to get back.

The Red Sox still have multiple players out with injuries, along with guys who just recently returned. Whether it's Roman Anthony , Trevor Story , or Garrett Crochet , there are plenty of questions that have to be answered about three of the better players on the roster. Anthony looks fine, Story will eventually get going, but Crochet still hasn't returned.

While there's an expectation that Crochet could return sometime in the near future, there's also a known reality that he isn't going to be a starter.

The Red Sox are being very smart with this decision by not rushing him back and asking him to throw too many innings, as they recognize that keeping Crochet healthy in the long term is much more important than whatever happens in October.

Regarding what his role might look like if he returns, skipper Chad Tracy had a lot to say about possibly being an opener. He also spoke about coming in during the middle of games.

"He'd have plenty of comfort opening if you wanted to go that route," Tracy said, per Jen McCaffrey.

"He pitched out of 'pen. So if you need him to come in the middle innings of a game, a two-inning pocket, I'm sure he'd have comfort doing that too. That's the beauty of it. If he's healthy and ready and he looks like Garrett, there's different things you can do. I hate getting too far ahead of myself. I just want to see him continue to check the boxes he needs to check and as we get closer and it feels like, 'Hey, this is a realistic thing now,' then we can kind of figure out what that is."

The promising part with Crochet, and the reality that the Red Sox need to recognize, is that he's thrown out of the bullpen for most of his career. This isn't a guy who doesn't know how to come in during the back half of a game and get outs, even if he hasn't done it over the past few seasons.

Crochet was one of the best relievers in all of baseball just a few seasons ago. With an electric fastball and elite stuff, he'll be in a spot to come in at any moment. With him and Aroldis Chapman in the backend of a bullpen, the Red Sox will have a major advantage.

That experience should help the Red Sox a lot in the postseason.