Garrett Crochet pitches for the Boston Red Sox now, and that’s undoubtedly exciting. But some fans won’t be fully satisfied until he’s locked in longer than the next two years.
After his breakout season in 2024, Crochet was traded to the Red Sox in December for a four-prospect haul that included Boston’s last two first-round picks. It’s clear his new team views him as an ace, and at age 25, he’s still got a lot of prime years left if he stays healthy.
Crochet has imposed a deadline of Opening Day–a week from Thursday–for a possible long-term contract extension. If the Red Sox don’t get it done by then, they’ll have to wait to try again until next offseason, when the price could be even higher in the event Crochet receives Cy Young consideration.
Are the Red Sox moving with urgency to try and get a deal done? One wouldn’t know it from CEO Sam Kennedy’s most recent comments about a potential Crochet extension.
“We would obviously love to have him a part of the organization for a long time,” Kennedy said Wednesday on WEEI. “You’ve seen a little glimpse of what hopefully is to come. He and his family need to decide is Boston where they want to be. As the three of us know, it’s not for everybody. But I think given his mindset and makeup, he’ll have a lot of success here if that’s what he chooses.”
The Red Sox have made things happen in the 11th hour on multiple occasions this winter, both with the Crochet trade and the Alex Bregman signing. So, Kennedy not expressing that something is imminent doesn’t mean it can’t come together.
“We are making it a priority to try to extend a lot of our own players that are currently under control, and he would fit into that category,” Kennedy said. “Excited about conversations there, but we also don’t want to push too hard and rush it if it’s not the right timeframe.”
It sure seems like the right timeframe to get Crochet locked in is now, if the Red Sox want to get any sort of value. If he carries his 12.9 strikeout/nine innings rate over a full season, he’ll be valued like one of the top pitchers in all of baseball.
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