The Boston Red Sox are currently second in the American League wild-card race, and they are sure hoping starting pitcher Garret Crochet can return for the postseason.

Crochet hasn’t pitched since April 25 due to shoulder inflammation, and he re-aggravated the issue in late May, which caused him not to throw in June or July.

On Friday, Crochet took a major step forward: He threw another bullpen session, this time on the field at Fenway Park.

Crochet was diagnosed with a lat strain in June, so it’s been a rough year for the Red Sox ace. Yet, they are currently considering bringing him back for the postseason without making an appearance in a minor league or major league game until then.

Crochet said he is pushing himself in hopes of being able to contribute, and he said he is “trending well” after the bullpen session on Friday.

“I’m not sure. Trending well, right now,” he said, via Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic. “Have a lot more stuff to tick off. This is my first time throwing sweepers in a bullpen, so it’d be a pretty big leap to put myself in a game mindset right now. It’s also like, whatever I say to you guys and (then) I don’t do it, then I look like a dumbass. And I’ve done that a couple of times. So, really, just keep trending, keep doing what the team and the staff asked me to do.”

The Red Sox are comfortably ahead in the wild-card race, so barring a sudden collapse, they should get into the playoffs.

Whether or not Crochet returns remains to be seen, and it might be a big risk. At the end of the day, the Red Sox ace is trying to do whatever he can, and another bullpen session is scheduled for Tuesday.