Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet makes team debut; tables contract talks with club

Over the course of the spring, Garrett Crochet was dominant, allowing just one earned run and striking out 30 batters over 15 2/3 Grapefruit League innings.

Expectations were high for Crochet's debut start, despite the southpaw being just OK, not great, he was good enough to keep his team in the game. The Sox would go on to win the season opener 5-2 over the Rangers, thanks to the heroics from Wilyer Abreu.

Crochet struggled with his command and looked shaky early on in the game, resulting in him laboring by throwing a lot of pitches before settling in. The lefty opened the game by walking two of the first five batters he faced. He needed 47 pitches to get the first six outs of the game before the Rangers went up 1-0.

He served up a double and then an RBI single to Kevin Pillar in the second inning and then settled into the game.

“I dug myself a hole with the pitch count early,” Crochet said. “Later in the game, I just started trusting the defense and trusting everybody other than myself.

"The first two innings really taxed my pitch count, so I’m going to walk away from today priding myself on the fact I was able to be a lot more efficient there later in the outing," he said.

Alex Cora had penciled in his new ace for “six of seven” innings in the game. Ultimately he was only able to pitch his way through five frames. Crochet allowed two runs on five hits while walking two and striking out four.

“It was a grinder day from the start,” Crochet said. “I felt like I struggled with consistent execution, maybe took a few too many shots in the first couple innings trying to get swing and miss. I dug myself into a hole with pitch count early. Later on in the game, I started trusting the defense and trusting everybody other than myself. I just tried filling up the zone as best as I could.”

Following the Pillar double, Crochet retired the next eight hitters before allowing another run on a single and a 414-foot RBI double to Rangers catcher Kyle Higashioka in the fourth.

The lefty’s fastball averaged 96.4 mph, topping out at 97.5 mph, according to Baseball Savant, and he drew 14 swing-and-misses, nine of them coming on his cutter, according to Baseball Savant. He threw 88 pitches in total, 61 for strikes.

“He was good, a lot of cutters, velo was ok, I think he found his fastball halfway through the outing,” Cora said. “Of course he wanted to keep going, but we’re in the business of taking care of him.”

If Crochet is going to work deeper into games, he will need to limit the walks. He issued 33 free passes in 146 innings last year with the White Sox. This season with the Red Sox, he comes with no innings restrictions. Chicago monitored the left-handed hurler's workload last season following his 2022 Tommy John surgery.

“Last year, I feel like I didn’t walk guys, so I’ve been putting a little excess pressure on myself to not walk guys,” he said. “Realistically, that’s part of the game.”

Crochet's next outing will come on Tuesday when the Sox travel to Baltimore.

CROCHET AND THE RED SOX TABLE EXTENSION TALKS

Unless something changes, it appears the Red Sox and Crochet will not reach a deal on a long-term contract extension.

The two sides were unable to reach an agreement prior to Crochet’s self-imposed Opening Day deadline. Earlier in the week, he indicated that he didn’t expect a deal to be completed, and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said prior to the season opener that the club would respect their ace’s wishes and table contract talks.

“Right now Garrett is getting ready to throw the first pitch of the 2025 season, and I think he’s been outspoken about wanting to table conversations and be able to focus on the season,” Breslow said. “We absolutely want to respect that, and we’re super excited about what he’s going to do for us.”

By not securing a deal with the young left-hander, the Red Sox are risking their future with Crochet atop their pitching staff. A long-term deal provides Crochet with financial security, and if he stays healthy, he gives the Sox a Cy Young-caliber pitcher to lead their rotation for years to come. If the Sox wait, Crochet’s price tag could skyrocket. Entering the 2026 season, he might decide to scrap talks altogether, test free agency, and secure a massive payday.

“There’s always pros and cons to everything,” Crochet said in mid-February down in spring training about his mindset on potential extension talks. “I think that the 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."Breslow declined to comment as to how close the two sides came to a deal but indicated to reporters that the club remains hopeful they’ll reach one.“I think out of respect for Garrett and the conversations, those will remain between us. I think where we are today is super excited that we’ve got a legitimate ace that’s going to take the mound and we’re going to see dominant stuff,” Breslow said. “I think I’ve maintained throughout the offseason that it’s a really important part of our strategy to identify players that can be part of the long-term success here, and when we find those, we’ll do everything we can to keep them here.”

The Red Sox began contract extension talks with Crochet shortly after New Year’s Day and maintained steady conversations with his agents at CAA. 

Instead of an extension, the two sides hammered out a one-year deal to avoid arbitration, Boston will pay Crochet $3.8 million this season following the five-player deal that sent top catching prospect Kyle Teel, outfielder Braden Montgomery, and two other prospects to the White Sox. Crochet has a total of two years of team control (counting this season) and can become a free agent at the conclusion of the 2026 season.

The Sox would be wise to see if Crochet can handle the rigors of pitching a full season with a bigger workload. Can he pitch 175-180 innings? He’s going to have to prove that he can if he expects the Red Sox to pay top dollar for his services.

Set aside the contract stalemate; Crochet is excited to pitch in front of the crowd at Fenway Park.

“As a player, you want that atmosphere. I think it helps you. When I was traded, that was one of the first things I thought.”