White Sox have a plan for Garrett Crochet to help lefty with his workload originally appeared in NBC Sports Chicago
CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago White Sox have a plan for Garrett Crochet to help the left-hander with his workload for the rest of the season.
Crochet was removed after he retired the first two batters in the sixth inning of Monday’s 3-0 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. There was no scoring when he was substituted.
Crochet, 25, threw 91 pitches, 60 of which were strikes. He threw 85 pitches in his previous start, when he struck out eight in six innings in a 4-1 loss to Houston.
“We’re going to start to lighten his workload a little bit and we’re going to manage it properly,” White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said Tuesday. “But it’s not something we’re going to put out there and say, ‘Here’s what we’re doing,’ because nothing in this game is black and white.
“He can have five innings where he throws 12 pitches or less and we can let him go six or seven innings, even when we’re trying to minimize his workload.
Crochet has been Chicago’s best pitcher this season, but he’s already up to 94 1/3 innings — 40 more than his 2021 career high. league on opening day, had Tommy John surgery on April 5, 2022.
He leads the American League with 130 strikeouts. He is 5-2 with a 1.53 ERA in his last 11 starts.
“He is slowly detraining throughout the year so he can finish the season,” Grifol said. “We are not going to detrain him and bring him back to the ability he had at the beginning of the season. This is getting worse now. We have to really monitor his workload.”
The White Sox had the major league’s worst record, 21-59, heading into Tuesday night’s game against the Dodgers. Crochet is among the top pitchers available ahead of the July 30 trade deadline, but concerns about his workload pose a unique challenge when it comes to completing a deal.
When it comes to pitch counts, Crochet said he counts as many as he can.
“I think I could throw 130 pitches and be cool,” he said after Monday night’s game. “That’s how I felt tonight. But with the input situation, I definitely understand where everyone is coming from, trying to monitor things.
