Red Sox
Crochet said it’s “definitely fair” to think the sides will pick up where they left off in the future.
Garrett Crochet and the Red Sox didn’t agree to a contract extension ahead of the player’s Opening Day deadline.
However, it sounds like both sides made significant progress and that talks will resume in the future.
Asked by WEEI’s Rob Bradford if he thought he would ink an extension before taking the mound in Texas on Thursday, Crochet thought it could go either way.
“I wasn’t quite sure. It was fairly down to the wire,” Crochet said. “So I really wasn’t sure. It was just kind of waiting to hear. There was communication the entire time.”
Any offer made by Boston is unknown. The left-handed pitcher did say that he didn’t feel like the parties were far off from an agreement.
“I never got that feeling,” Crochet said when asked if he felt like he and the organization were distant. “You would rather it be that way than have the conversation one time and it’s a large gap, where I’m over here thinking I’m a really good pitcher and there would be a gap, meaning they’re thinking you are less than you.”
Crochet self-imposed a March 27 deadline to end extension discussions earlier in March.
“I would rather not [talk contract during regular-season play],” he told Bradford. “I feel like it could be a distraction for myself and I don’t exactly want to be in the clubhouse talking about it with my teammates around me.”
Crochet may very well stick to his word, but the club has a recent example of a member of the team reversing course on the matter. Manager Alex Cora entered last season as a lame duck. His original contract was set to expire after the 2024 season, and he said he wasn’t going to discuss an extension during the season.
Cora had a change of heart and signed a three-year extension in July.
It’s a different situation for a player, especially in the 25-year-old Crochet’s circumstances. He’s coming off his first full season as a starter, and even then, his former team reduced his workload in the second half to preserve his arm health.
Crochet posted an impressive season in 2024. He logged 209 strikeouts over 146 innings of work, good for a 12.9 strikeouts per nine innings. A 1.068 WHIP also helped Crochet earn his first All-Star Game appearance.
If the southpaw posts a similarly dominant season, especially on a competitive club in the Red Sox, he will be worth significantly more money than he would otherwise have been during spring training.
It’s difficult to fault Crochet for opting to bet on himself if he wasn’t completely satisfied with Boston’s offers. He could become one of the highest-paid pitchers in baseball if he continues his dominance into 2025.
Until then, Crochet said it’s “definitely fair” to think the sides will pick up extension conversations where they left off in the future.
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