Red Sox, Garrett Crochet have reportedly discussed contract extension
Boston and Crochet agreed to a one-year, 3.8 million deal on Thursday to avoid arbitration, but the player can still ink a larger contract.
One month after chief baseball officer Craig Breslow referred to Garrett Crochet as a “bonafide ace,” the Red Sox and the starting pitcher have reportedly been in contact about a contract extension.
Crochet, 25, is under team control through the 2026 season. However, he reportedly wants to sign an extension with his new team despite having yet to throw a pitch in a Boston uniform, according to MassLive’s Chris Cotillo and Sean McAdam.
“The sides have already had some dialogue about a contract extension, a baseball source confirmed Wednesday, though it remains unclear if anything is close,” Cotillo wrote.
The left-handed pitcher and the Red Sox agreed to a one-year, 3.8 million deal on Thursday to avoid arbitration. Resolving that contract was a priority for each side this week, per Cotillo.
This contract does not prevent the sides from inking a longer-term deal, which appears to be their new priority.
Following the news that the sides dodged an arbitration hearing, McAdam reported that Crochet has long made his wishes for a legitimate contract extension known.
“… One industry source noted recently that every interested team that spoke with the White Sox this offseason about Crochet was made aware of what the general parameters of an extension would look like,” McAdam wrote Friday. “Further, it was made known that Crochet was very much willing to quickly sign an extension with the team trading for him and achieve some stability.”
While the numbers that the Red Sox and Crochet have reportedly negotiated are unknown, it would be in Boston’s best interest to sign Crochet to an extension now, before he enters the free agent market next year. He could ask for much more money than he’s seeking now with two more seasons under his belt.
It’s encouraging that the Red Sox are prioritizing locking up Crochet, especially after Breslow heaped praise on the southpaw last month following the trade to acquire him.
“Feel like we got a legitimate, number one starter in Garrett. Left-handed, ton of swing and miss, massive strikeouts, and feel like the best is still in front of him. So we’re excited about what he brings,” Breslow said on Dec. 11, the day of the trade. “The excitement that we have around adding him to the rotation, it adds depth, it adds quality, bonafide ace. Someone that we feel he’s going to continue to improve. Really excited about getting him into our pitching infrastructure, getting a chance for him to work with [pitching coach Andrew Bailey], and winning a bunch of games at Fenway Park for us.”
Neither Breslow nor Crochet commented on a possible extension last month. However, between Breslow’s comments and what’s been reported, a larger deal could happen prior to Opening Day.
The Athletic‘s Ken Rosenthal isn’t convinced that Boston is willing to hand out a hefty contract to any player, though. During a Friday appearance on “Foul Territory”, the MLB insider was speaking about the team’s potential hesitancy to sign a right-handed hitter like Alex Bregman to a large deal. But his comments could also relate to pitching contracts.
“I think they’re afraid of a bad deal. Listen, they’ve had some bad deals in recent years. [Masataka] Yoshida was one, Chris Sale was another one — it was a bad deal for them, the way it worked out,” Rosenthal said. “And Trevor Story has not worked out to their satisfaction. So you can understand ownership’s reluctance.”
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