Red Sox, Garrett Crochet reportedly unlikely to reach extension agreement ahead of Opening Day deadline
Crochet previously shared that he planned to pause extension talks when he talks the mound for Opening Day on March 27.
Garrett Crochet and the Red Sox seem to be on track to play out the 2025 season before potentially hammering out a long-term contract agreement.
An extension agreement between the star pitcher and the Red Sox ahead of Crochet’s self-imposed Opening Day deadline is viewed as “less than likely,” MassLive’s Chris Cotillo reported. Additionally, there’s also a “large gap” between the two parties in trying to get a deal, Cotillo added.
Crochet, who is under team control through the end of the 2026 season, has shared a willingness to sign an extension after the Red Sox traded for him in December. However, he also told reporters during spring training on multiple occasions that he’d be OK with playing this season out.
As the reality has started to set in that an extension is reportedly unlikely, Crochet seemed to accept that when he spoke with reporters on Thursday.
“I think that right now, we’re just looking forward to getting through the season,” Crochet said.
Crochet hasn’t been shy in discussing a potential extension throughout spring training. He shared how getting an extension done could benefit him in 2025 in an interview with the “Section 10” podcast while also recognizing that he could earn even more money if he waits to sign a deal until after the season in other interviews.
“There’s always pros and cons to everything,” Crochet told reporters in Fort Myers in February. “I think that 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.
“(I) was 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.”
Eventually, Crochet drew a line in the sand for when he’d pause extension talks earlier in March.
“For me personally, once the season starts, I would like for whatever conversations are currently being had to be placed on the back burner until the following offseason,” Crochet told The Boston Globe‘s Alex Speier. “We have a big season ahead of us and we’re trying to do a lot of special things. I don’t want to be a distraction for the team in any way and I myself don’t want to be distracted by having to answer these kinds of questions in the media.”
Crochet, who’ll be the Red Sox’ starting pitcher when the 2025 season opens against the Rangers on Thursday, has seemingly added to his case to earn a rich contract this spring. Following his final start of the spring this past Thursday, the 25-year-old finished the exhibition season with a 0.58 ERA, 1.340 WHIP, and 30 strikeouts in 15 2/3 innings over five appearances.
Of course, the Red Sox didn’t acquire Crochet to pitch well in spring training. But those numbers are more than promising following his breakout campaign in 2024 with the White Sox. Last season was Crochet’s first year as a full-time starter, going 6-12 with a 3.58 ERA over 32 starts. He only pitched 146 innings as the White Sox managed his workload in the second half of the season after missing the majority of the previous two years due to Tommy John surgery.
Due to the lower number of innings pitched, Crochet didn’t qualify for many leaderboards at season’s end. His 1.068 WHIP would’ve been top-five in the American League had he thrown enough innings to qualify. However, his 209 strikeouts were the fourth-most in the American League, regardless of innings.
Even though Crochet doesn’t have the longest track record of being an elite pitcher, the Red Sox want him in Boston for the long haul.
“He and his family need to decide is Boston where they want to be, and as the three of us know it’s not for everybody,” Red Sox CEO Sam Kennedy told WEEI on Wednesday. “But I think given his mindset and makeup he’ll have a lot of success here if that’s what he chooses.
“We are making it a priority to try and extend a lot of our own players that are currently under control and he would fit into that category. Excited about conversations there but we don’t want to push too hard and rush it if it’s not the right time for him.”
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