Red Sox
“I think when you look at the organization as a whole, it’s a very welcoming, well-run organization.”
Garrett Crochet’s self-imposed Opening Day deadline to get an extension done passed without a deal. But less than a week later, Crochet and the Red Sox came to terms on a pricey extension.
The Red Sox and Crochet agreed to a six-year, $170 million extension on Monday, giving him the most guaranteed money for a player with four-plus years of service in MLB history. Of course, that kind of money played a big role in Crochet signing that extension. However, his new coaches and teammates left a strong impression on Crochet after he was traded to Boston in December.
“You can never imagine stepping into a new clubhouse being an easy thing,” Crochet told reporters. “But going back to Fan Fest, I really felt at home right away and felt the embrace of Boston in general.”
Crochet, 25, was previously under team control through the end of the 2026 season. As his potential free agency neared, it’s reasonable to think that Crochet could’ve signed a record-setting deal for a left-handed pitcher in free agency had he decided to wait. On top of his age, Crochet was one of the best pitchers in the American League last season, posting a 3.58 ERA while his 12.9 strikeouts per nine innings pitched would’ve led MLB had he thrown enough innings to qualify.
Rather than wait to see if he could receive a $200-plus million deal, though, Crochet liked what the Red Sox have to offer from an on-field standpoint, making him feel comfortable to make a longterm decision.
“I think when you look at the organization as a whole, it’s a very welcoming, well-run organization,” Crochet said. “The talent, from top to bottom, gives us the opportunity to compete for years to come. Along with (Red Sox CEO) Sam Kennedy, Bres (chief baseball officer Craig Breslow), and AC (manager Alex Cora), the entire top was very welcome to me. I felt like they were that way with players throughout the minor leagues as well. So, it’s just a very well-run organization that I look forward to being a part of.”
For Crochet, the extension puts a cap on a storyline that clouded him for much of the last year. When he was viewed as a top candidate to be moved at the trade deadline in July, Crochet requested that whichever team acquired him would have to give him an extension in order for him to pitch in the postseason.
As a result of that request, Crochet remained with the White Sox through the end of the season. But he became a trade candidate again at the onset of the offseason, with it being expected that he would want an extension with whichever team traded for him.
The Red Sox and Crochet each stated a desire to get a longterm deal done when he was acquired in December. Unlike last year, though, Crochet showed a willingness to pause extension talks by placing the Opening Day deadline.
Crochet believed that the last few months showed the power that players can have in dictating their future.
“Who knows what were to happen if we weren’t able to somewhat take a stand for ourselves? As a player, there’s not a lot of opportunity for you to have control over a situation,” Crochet said. “But it all led to being acquired by a team like the Boston Red Sox, who wanted to make that mutual commitment. I hope that it could serve as a reminder to players that you have control over situations more so than you think. I’m just thankful to be a Boston Red Sox.”
With the extension signed, Crochet can focus on just pitching in a Red Sox uniform for years to come. In his first start since the deal, he pitched eight shutout innings against the Orioles while tossing 102 pitches, the second-most in a game of his career.
Considering the amount of money that Crochet signed for, those are the kind of outings the Red Sox will expect out of him for the foreseeable future. He’s ready to take on the challenge of being a full-time ace.
“It kind of goes with how I carry myself to the field every day and in the clubhouse. There are a lot of leadership qualities that I feel like I embody that come along with a contract like that, so the two kind of go hand in hand for sure,” Crochet said of taking a leadership role with the Red Sox. “But I think that just being myself, it kind of comes naturally to me. For me, it’s kind of always been who I am, someone that leads by example but also isn’t afraid to speak up. I feel like with my personality, I show up when the games matter.”
And even though it took some time for the two sides to come to terms on an extension, Crochet could sense that he wanted to be in Boston for years to come not long after the trade.
“This is something that I felt at home with right away,” Crochet said. “They made an immediate impression on me and I couldn’t be more excited to be wearing a Red Sox uniform for the next several years.”
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