The Red Sox announced their roster for the Wild Card round and it includes the left-hander Garrett Hook. He was officially reinstated from the 60-day injured list. Right-handed Justin Slater was moved to the 60-day IL to open a 40-man roster spot for Hook. List does not include outfielder Braiden district.
Hook has been in the injury wilderness for most of the year. Left shoulder inflammation put him on IL in April. He was initially thought to be out quickly, but he suffered a side strain in June. As time passed and he struggled to progress, it became less and less likely that he would return to the rotation, so Crochet targeted a relief role. He didn’t make it off the IL during the regular season, but he pitched out of the bullpen and took live batting practice. It appears he has made enough progress for the Sox to give him a roster spot for their series against the Yankees.
It’s a role that Hook has experience with. Although he was a starter through 2024 and 2025, he has previously worked in relief for the White Sox. In 2020, just months after he was drafted, Chicago called him up and added him to the bullpen. He pitched six scoreless innings at the end of that season, then also made a playoff appearance that year. In 2021, he remained in the bullpen, giving the White Sox 54 1/3 innings with a 2.82 ERA. Injuries wiped out most of his 2022 and 2023 years, and then he returned to a starting role afterward.
This year, no one knows what Crochet can offer after such a long injury absence, but it’s an understandable gamble for the Sox to take. Crochet is one of the best pitchers in the league when healthy and at his best. He struck out 28.3% of batters faced during this 2021 season in the Chicago bullpen. That strikeout rate was over 30% when he worked as a starter in 2024 and 2025.
What’s unclear is what role Hook will have now that he’s active. Boston has a good bullpen, with Aroldis Chapman And Garrett Whitlock really solid options for the later rounds. Maybe they’ll have Hook lower in the rankings, perhaps for less critical situations, until he proves ready. Or maybe the series will be close enough that he has to go straight into a key spot with leverage.
In addition to Chapman and Crochet, the Sox will have lefties Jake Bennett, Eric Miller And Alec Gamboa on the list. The Yankees have a number of left-handed bats on their roster, including Ben Rice, Cody Bellinger, Luis Garcia Jr., Spencer Jones, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Austin Wells, Ryan McMahon And Trent Grisham. Sox start lefties Payton Tolle And Ranger Suarez in the first and third matches respectively, with Righty Sonny Gray in the second game.
The rest of Boston’s bullpen includes Greg Weissert, Brayan Bello And Wyatt Olds. On the position player side, they have receivers Adley Rutschman And Connor Wonginfielders Willson Contreras, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Caleb Durbin, Trevor’s Story, Nick Sogard And Andruw Monasteryas well as the outfielders Ceddanne Rafaela, Jarren Duran, Romain Antoine, Jahma Jones, Wilyer Abreu And Nate Eaton.
It was reported a few weeks ago that the Sox were considering adding Braiden district to the list. He has no major league experience, but he stole 61 bases in the minors this year and could have been a very specific bench weapon, coming in in a pinch situation. It appears the Sox have decided not to use up room on Ward, at least for now.
Slaten went on the 15-day IL in August due to elbow inflammation. He tried to throw again in September, but his symptoms returned. Manager Chad Tracy said earlier this month that the Sox expected him to miss the rest of the season, so the move isn’t a surprise. He will technically be eligible for reinstatement on the IL in mid-October.
Photo courtesy of Daniel Kucin Jr., Imagn Images
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