Garrett Crochet is without a doubt the Red Sox’s ace of now and the future, which is why they need to ensure he’ll be around to help achieve their goals.

Crochet only pitched 5 1/3 innings in Boston’s loss to the New York Mets at Fenway Park on Wednesday. The southpaw was on 85 pitches, but manager Alex Cora noted that it was preplanned to not extend the 25-year-old — the left-hander also confirmed the plan.

It was a difficult decision since the loss put the Red Sox back below .500, but they also want to keep Crochet’s workload in mind so that he can help them earn a playoff spot.

“It’s really hard because he’s dealing in the moment. He’s looking the way he looks, and then you make the decision that really is rooted in the overall health of the team,” Red Sox president and CEO said on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” on Thursday. “But those are the hard decisions that our guys have to make night in and night out. We’re preparing for 162, but in the moment, you certainly don’t want to see a guy like that come out of the game when you see what he’s doing. But, obviously, as everyone knows, he hasn’t pitched a whole slate of 162. He’s strong, and young and building up. We just got to make sure everyone stays healthy. It’s hard. Baseball in the moment is really hard, but you got to think about the next several weeks, as well. It’s a difficult balance.”

Crochet still led in the league in innings pitched at 68 1/3 after Wednesday’s start. The All-Star pitcher has had a stellar start to the season with a 1.98 ERA and 78 strikeouts. Boston hopes to have that production through the most pivotal parts of the season, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see more instances like Wednesday night.