Red Sox, ace left-hander Garrett Crochet agree to 6-year, $170M extension through 2031

After tabling contract talks with the Red Sox on the eve of Opening Day, the Red Sox and Garrett Crochet have agreed to a six-year, $170 million extension, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

The deal will cover the 2026-2031 seasons and will also include an opt-out after 2030. It gives the Red Sox control over one of the game’s best young left-handed starters for at least five years, beginning after this season. Crochet’s new deal will pay him an average annual value of $28.33 million.

The deal also includes escalators that can max the contract out at $180 million over the six seasons, according to FanSided’s Robert Murray. 

Crochet’s deal does not include a no-trade clause, and he will receive a $2 million assignment bonus if he is dealt during the course of his new contract, and the deal covers up to $2 million per year in escalators between 2027 and 2031 based on his finish in Cy Young voting, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand.

He will take home a $4 million signing bonus, then make $24 million in 2026. From 2027 to 2030, he’ll earn $28 million annually. His salary would then rise to $30 million in 2031 should he opt in. 

The 6-foot-6 lefty's new deal is the largest contract for a pitcher with four to five years of service time in the league. It passes Jacob deGrom’s five-year, $137.5 million deal with the Mets back in 2019.

Extending Crochet became one of the Red Sox’ primary goals after acquiring the left-handed hurler in the December blockbuster trade that sent catching prospect Kyle Teel, outfielder Braden Montgomery, infielder Chase Meidroth, and right-handed pitcher Wikelman Gonzalez to the White Sox. Teel and Montgomery were the Red Sox’s last two first-round draft picks.

The Red Sox front office and representatives for Crochet have been in negotiations since January, hoping to secure a potential long-term deal.

In mid-February, Crochet downplayed the idea an extension would get done and seemed focused on wanting to pitch this year and show he could put together back-to-back years as a starter.

“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." Craig 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.”

Crochet is coming off a relatively dominant year for the White Sox last season, striking out 209 batters while posting a 3.58 ERA over 146 innings.

Earlier in the week, he indicated that he didn’t expect a deal to be completed, and 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.”

A week prior to the start of the season, it appeared that the Sox and Crochet were at a significant distance, with the two teams likely to start the regular season without a deal. Crochet expressed his belief that there was little likelihood of achieving a deal with Boston during an appearance on the "Play Tessie" podcast.

“Before opening day, I'm not really thinking that there's much possibility right now,” Crochet said. “I'm more so focused on just playing out the season. But just like the prospect of being here long-term is incredibly exciting. We just talked about the rivalry [with the Yankees]. It's just such a storied franchise, but with, like you said too, a lot of star power here. So, it's a team that I think is built to win, and it's filled with youth, so it's got the capability to win for a long time, which is very exciting. Yeah, a lot of pros, for sure.”

Crochet, who will turn 26 in June, will earn $3.8 million this season, a deal he agreed to in January to avoid arbitration. His new deal will buy out one year of arbitration (2026 season) and four to five years of his potential free agency seasons, depending on whether he opts out.

With this deal, the Red Sox have a handful of their starting rotation locked up for the next couple of seasons. The Red Sox have committed to Crochet until 2030, Brayan Bello until 2029, with his team option potentially extending to 2030, Kutter Crawford until 2028, and Tanner Houck until 2027. Lucas Giolito and Walker Buehler can both become free agents at the end of this season.

Boston extended Bello last spring to a six-year, $55 million extension that includes a $21 million club option at the beginning of camp last difficulties with his command, but he eventually found his rhythm. The lefty opened the game by walking two of the first five batters he faced. He required 47 pitches to secure the first six outs of the game before the Rangers took a 1-0 lead.

Alex Cora had "penciled" in his new ace for a minimum of "six or seven" innings; however, he was only able to work five. Crochet, who called his start a “grinder day” 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.”

The Red Sox are hopeful that Crochet isn’t the last young player they lock up. Boston have reportedly been in deep contract negotiations with rookie Kristian Campbell. While a deal may not be imminent, both parties are eager to make progress.