BOSTON -- Four hours prior to the start of Friday¡¯s home opener against the Cardinals, the Red Sox formalized a development that should put them on solid footing well into the future.
There¡¯s no better way for a baseball team to set a tone than with a true ace.
And that¡¯s why Garrett Crochet¡¯s press conference to discuss the six-year, $170 million contract extension he agreed to earlier this week was attended by owner John Henry, president/CEO Sam Kennedy, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and manager Alex Cora, as well as several coaches and players.
¡°It makes a difference,¡± Cora said of having a stud at the top of the rotation. ¡°He pitched eight innings two days ago, and the next day, he was already scouting Toronto. That¡¯s his next start. That was at 9 a.m. the next day. That¡¯s how he works. That¡¯s how he operates.¡±
For Crochet, the beauty of the extension is that he can put all his focus into pitching and his teammates and not have any thoughts about free agency.
The power lefty certainly looked free of mind when he celebrated his extension by firing eight scoreless innings in Baltimore on Wednesday, walking one, striking out eight and throwing 102 pitches (68 strikes) while snapping his team¡¯s four-game losing streak.
Crochet has a presence the Red Sox haven¡¯t had at the front of the rotation since Chris Sale¡¯s last relatively healthy season with the club in 2019.
Though just 25 and with only one full season as a starter under his belt, Crochet carries himself with maturity beyond his years, and he has overpowering stuff to back it up.
¡°Results aside, I feel like it kind of just goes with how I carry myself to the field every day and in the clubhouse,¡± said Crochet. ¡°There's 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, but I think that just being myself, it kind of comes naturally to me.¡±
For Crochet, it has been a whirlwind past several months. Given that he pretty much knew the rebuilding White Sox were going to trade him, the lefty made it clear to the team he wanted to be on a pitch-count restriction in the second half of last season.
The December trade ultimately landed Crochet on a team he had been hoping he would go to. And less than four months later, he signed a contract that will allow him to plant roots in the tradition-rich baseball town of Boston.
¡°[My wife] Rachel and I were talking about it all through the offseason. Who knows what would have happened if we weren't able to somewhat take a stand for ourselves,¡± said Crochet. ¡°As a player, there's not a lot of opportunity for you to have control of the situation, but it all led to being acquired by a team like the Boston Red Sox, who wanted to make that mutual commitment. So I hope that it could kind of serve as a reminder for players that you have control of situations more so than you think. And I'm just thankful to be a Boston Red Sox.¡±
In Spring Training, Crochet became more convinced the Red Sox were a team he would be comfortable with for a long time.
¡°They made an immediate impression on me,¡± Crochet said
The Red Sox became similarly confident the union would be a productive one long term as they got to know and observe Crochet.
¡°We¡¯ve had the chance to see Garrett in Spring Training every day at 6:30 in the morning and after long road trips, and he was the same guy every day,¡± said Breslow. ¡°He was committed to the work in the weight room and the training room, and [he] emerged as a leader among the group. We have full confidence that this is the type of guy that can lead our rotation for a long time.¡±
And if the fans were trying to get off on a good foot with Crochet by giving him a standing ovation at the team¡¯s Fenway Fest event in January, it worked.
¡°Going back to [Fenway] Fest -- I'll reference it one more time -- the embrace was incredible,¡± Crochet said. ¡°It was the first fan fest I've ever been a part of. But coming here on the road was a difficult thing to do, and so now, just being on the home side is going to be really exciting and special.¡±