It has been 86 days since Garrett Crochet last took the mound for the Boston Red Sox, and it doesn't look like his return is going to come anytime soon. The 2025 Cy Young Award runner-up spoke on Tuesday afternoon about whether or not he will return from the left shoulder strain that has kept him on the injured list since April 27, giving a less-than-encouraging answer. 

In the weeks leading up to the All-Star break, Crochet had begun throwing a plyo ball as the first step toward ramping things back up. However, interim manager Chad Tracy told reporters coming out of the break that Crochet was not throwing at all. 

If Crochet remains on the injured list until August 26, he will trigger a clause in his contract that voids the 2031 player option in his contract, making it a guaranteed year.  

"It's tough to say. I mean, I'm not gonna make a claim like that," Crochet told NBC Sports Boston's Michael Hurley when asked about the possibility that his season is over. The 27-year-old went on to discuss his frustrations with the injury, which at the time of his placement on the injured list was thought to be minor. 

"I understand why you asked the question. It sucks, though, because I remember when I went on the IL originally, I was like, maybe I'll just miss one start. And then the way that the injury just kind of matured, especially with the setback following the first ramp, it just, it matured to a place where, like I said, it's just completely different from the original diagnosis, which sucks," he said. 

Crochet's comments about his injury "maturing" to a point where it has been much worse than the original diagnosis raise eyebrows about the Red Sox medical staff and how they classify injuries. Crochet's injury is the latest in a string of injuries that have taken much longer than expected to heal. Injured outfielder Roman Anthony, who has been out since May 4 with a partially torn ligament in his right hand, was given a similar timeline as Crochet when he was originally placed on the 15-day IL with a right finger strain. 

Instead, Anthony began a hitting progression before being shut down, while a miscommunication about his injury from team president Sam Kennedy led the 22-year-old to issue a correction on the team's definition of his injury, telling WEEI's Rob Bradford that it was a partially torn ligament rather than a sprain. Now, over two months later, the 22-year-old Anthony has been sent to the team's facilities in Ft. Myers, where he will wait to be pain-free to resume swinging. 

While setbacks are normal, the Red Sox consistently find themselves placing timelines on injuries that wind up taking much longer than expected. Whether it's a problem with communication or with how the medical staff diagnoses injuries, it's something that has to be remedied. 

According to Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com, the Red Sox are considering activating All-Star starter Ranger Suarez to start game two of Wednesday night's day-night doubleheader against the Orioles. The 30-year-old lefty was slated to be activated off the 15-day injured list ahead of Tuesday's postponement, but was scratched to get extra rest. 

Tim Healey of the Boston Globe reported Monday that injured infielders Marcelo Mayer and Isiah Kiner-Falefa have been cleared to begin a swing progression. Kiner-Falefa has been out of the Red Sox lineup since June 20, while Mayer has been out since June 26, both with stress reactions in their left forearms. 

The Red Sox will look to tie the franchise record of 15 straight wins in game one of Wednesday's day-night doubleheader against the Baltimore Orioles. Jake Bennett (5-3, 2.35) will get the start for Boston opposite Dean Kremer (1-2, 4.15 ERA) for Baltimore. First pitch from Fenway Park set for 1:35 p.m. ET. 

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