The Boston Red Sox made one of the biggest splashes of the offseason by acquiring left-handed ace Garrett Crochet in a blockbuster trade with the Chicago White Sox.
Crochet, who is only 25, will anchor a rotation featuring Tanner Houck, Brayan Bello, and newly signed Walker Buehler. Since the Red Sox are considering a six-man rotation, they can fill out the back end with Kutter Crawford and a returning Lucas Giolito.
In his first season as a full-time starter last year, Crochet dominated with 209 strikeouts in 146 innings across 32 starts, posting a 3.58 ERA, 115 ERA+, and 2.69 FIP. He fanned a whopping 12.9 batters per nine innings and maintained a minuscule 1.068 WHIP while making his first All-Star team.
Crochet, who will be a free agent after the 2026 season, was recently asked about signing an extension with Boston. His answer might concern Red Sox fans.
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Garrett Crochet opens up about extension talks with Boston Red Sox
In an interview with MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo, Crochet indicated he might wait to sign an extension despite both sides engaging in contract talks in January.
“There’s always pros and cons to everything,” Crochet said. “I think that the long-term security is definitely something attractive. As players, we like to look out for our family first. But with last year being my first taste of starting, part of me also wants to see what I could do with the full season of innings workload.
“(I) was on a short leash. Part of me wants to see what I could do in a full season before, I suppose, locking myself into a certain bracket of player.”
Crochet transitioned to the rotation after one full season as a reliever. However, he missed the entire 2022 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery and made only 13 appearances in 2023. Beyond the elbow surgery, he has also dealt with back and shoulder injuries over the last five years.
The White Sox put Crochet on the trade block during last year’s deadline, but potential suitors backed off after he expressed interest in signing an extension to pitch in the playoffs.
While it makes sense for Crochet to secure an extension given his injury history, the Red Sox don’t have to rush since he’s under team control for two seasons.
