Garrett Crochet Gets Candid About Extension Talks With Red Sox

When the Red Sox packaged four prospects to the White Sox this offseason in a blockbuster trade to land Garrett Crochet, Boston knew it would have the talented left-hander pitcher under team control for at least two seasons.

Anything beyond that remains a mystery at the moment.

Boston’s front office appears to want to have Crochet in a Red Sox uniform for a long time and reportedly started extension talks with the 25-year-old last month. It’s unknown exactly where those discussions stand now as pitchers and catchers officially reported to spring training Wednesday.

“My understanding of it is Mission 1 was getting to camp and then talks would happen or not happen after that,” Crochet told reporters, per team-provided video. “As far as that side of things, I like to leave it to my agent. I just like to come out here and focus on playing ball.”

It’s no guarantee an extension with Crochet gets done. He still has to prove he can be an elite starter in the big leagues, but surely showed plenty of promise in that role last season.

After Crochet served exclusively as a reliever in his first three MLB seasons — he also missed the entire 2022 campaign due to Tommy John surgery — he transitioned into a full-time starter last season. Crochet was dominant at times as a starter, striking out 209 batters in 146 innings while posting a 3.58 ERA. But the White Sox were protective of Crochet, limiting his workload over the second half of the season as he didn’t throw more than four innings in any of his final 14 starts.

It’s set up Crochet nicely to build off that season and he might be more willing to see how things play out instead of locking himself into an extension too early.

“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.

“Obviously, I made every start last year. Felt like I was prepared to go the distance in the second half, but was kind of 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.”

This season could prove to be a win-win for Crochet and the Red Sox. If Crochet goes out and dominates on the mound, he could get the massive payday he presumably is looking for while Boston gets an ace at the front of their rotation for years to come.

Crochet very well could stay with the Red Sox for the foreseeable future and beyond. He feels that could be the case, too.

“As soon as I was traded to the Red Sox, I knew that this was a place that I could see myself long-term,” Crochet said. “I think when you talk about a storied franchise like this one, it’s one that any player would be lucky to call home for whatever duration of time that may be. It’s not exactly fully in my hands. But I’ve been seeing the big picture as soon as the trade went through.”