BOSTON ¨C When Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow sent four prospects to the White Sox in December for Garrett Crochet, he had no intention of the emerging lefty ace being a short-timer in Boston.
And that is sure not to be the case now.
Crochet, just one start into his Red Sox career, has signed a six-year extension, the club announced on Tuesday. The deal is worth $170 million, a source told MLB.com's Mark Feinsand, who also reported the following details:
The deal runs from 2026-31 with an opt-out after the ¡®30 season. Crochet¡¯s extension will include up to $2 million per year in escalators between 2027-2031 based on his finish in Cy Young voting. Crochet¡¯s deal does not include a no-trade clause but he will receive a $2 million assignment bonus if he is traded during the course of the contract. It is the largest contract signed by a pitcher with four-plus years of service time.
The previous high was the five-year, $137 million contract that Jacob deGrom signed with the Mets in 2018.
Before agreeing to the extension, Crochet was set to be a free agent following the ¡®26 season.
As much as Breslow hoped Crochet would be around for the long haul, there were no assurances until the deal actually got done. And a late surge of momentum after Opening Day was required for the contract to become a reality, even though Crochet had expressed a preference not to negotiate once the season started.
But the sides stayed connected long enough to find common ground.
¡°I was thinking that there was a decent probability that we were going to need to pick up these conversations next offseason,¡± said Breslow. ¡°Fortunately, I think we both recognized that there could be common ground here, and it wouldn't take a ton, given all of the legwork that had been created. And so in the end, we were able to get this over the line in a way that came together pretty quickly.¡±
From Pedro Martinez to Curt Schilling to Jon Lester to Chris Sale, Boston has had its share of marquee aces in the 21st century.
Crochet now has a chance to join that group and do something that all of them did -- be part of a World Series championship team with the Red Sox.
The acquisition of Crochet and subsequent extension signals where the Red Sox think they are headed as an organization after missing the postseason in five of the past six seasons following the club¡¯s last World Series title in 2018.
¡°My hope is that this is another step in charting the course for sustainable organizational health, vying for division titles, for World Series championships year over year,¡± Breslow said. ¡°We can all get excited about the young position player talent that we have. Now we have Garrett locked up for the foreseeable future. We have a really strong rotation behind him. And we have some pitching up and coming alongside some of those position players. So it further cements where we are in terms of our competitive window and we¡¯re ready to make good and honor the commitment we have made to our fans over the last six months.¡±
Crochet didn¡¯t become a starter until last season, when he posted a 3.58 ERA while notching 209 strikeouts in 146 innings.
Was it risky for the Red Sox to invest so much someone who has only started for one Major League season?
¡°There¡¯s always risk associated with these types of contracts. I think we recognize that. At the same time, we're talking about an elite starting pitcher who's 25 years old, and someone we believe will continue to develop and whose best days are ahead of him,¡± said Breslow.
Crochet immediately slotted in as Boston¡¯s ace and started on Opening Day, tossing five innings with two runs and four strikeouts in the Red Sox¡¯s 5-2 victory over the Rangers. With the 25-year-old left-hander signed through the foreseeable future and a plethora of talented veterans and youngsters, the Red Sox are building what could be a sustainable contender.
Crochet will make his second start for the Red Sox on Wednesday in Baltimore. He is scheduled to discuss his contract extension in a news conference at Fenway Park prior to the club¡¯s home opener on Friday.