Red Sox Get Uncomfortable, Extend Crochet To Six-Year Deal in Surprise Move

A key theme of the offseason, often reiterated by Craig Breslow, was needing to get "uncomfortable” when it came to making moves. Well the Red Sox did just that Monday night, when they reached an agreement with Garrett Crochet on an extension that will keep him in Boston for potentially the next six seasons. The deal is presumably pending a physical, but the two sides agreed on a six-year, $170-million deal that will begin in 2026. It will buy out Crochet's last year of arbitration, when he would have made around $10 million, and it should carry a luxury tax hit of $28.33 million. The deal does not include any deferred money, and it contains $10 million in incentives based on where Crochet finishes in the Cy Young voting. It also has a $2 million assignment bonus should the team trade Crochet and an opt-out following the 2030 season that would allow Crochet to enter free agency at the age of 31. That means that although it's technically a six-year extension, it may only keep Crochet in Boston for four extra years.

The deal was first reported by Jeff Passan of ESPN. The contract is the largest the Red Sox have given to a starting pitcher since Chris Sale signed his extension back in 2019. It continues a trend of the Red Sox spending money following Alex Bregman’s three-year, $120-million (much of it deferred) contract this past offseason, and it comes on the heels of reports that the team is also working on an extension with rookie Kristian Campbell.

The sides had reportedly been close to a deal prior to Crochet’s self-imposed deadline of Opening Day, with Crochet telling reporters that it had gone "down to the wire." With no agreement by the deadline, the chances of a deal happening during the season seemed to be much lower, but plans change quickly when both sides want something done. Just four days after Breslow himself told fans not to expect a deal, the two sides have managed to make it happen. Crochet will pitch next on Wednesday, the first game the team will play since he signed the extension thanks to an off day today. In his first start with the Red Sox, Crochet got the win, lasting five innings and surrendering two runs on five hits. He managed to strike out four and walked two batters. The team will now turn to its ace to stop its losing streak at four games.

An extension always seemed likely because both sides stood to gain quite a bit from one. Crochet's history of elbow injuries and short track record as a starter gave him motivation to seek the security of a long-term deal earlier, even if it meant not getting top dollar on the free agent market. The Red Sox have been loath to make long-term commitments to free agents, but starting pitching has been a clear priority for them, and they clearly coveted the kind of bona fide ace who could start the first game of a playoff series. In fact, they coveted Crochet so much that he didn't have to give up any money; the team is paying him a bit more per year than the Yankees are paying Max Fried, even though Fried's track record as a successful starter is fully six times longer than Crochet's. It's important to keep in mind that this move is a gamble. The Red Sox have tied their future to Crochet, and if he should falter or face further injury troubles, the contract could look onerous, just as Chris Sale's did toward the end of his tenure in Boston. 

Crochet has just one year as a starter under his belt at any level, and he's just two years removed from a major surgery. Last season, Crochet's desire for an extension, but only for a deal that paid him what he felt he was worth, deterred many potential trading partners. As he was on an innings limit in his first year back from Tommy John surgery, he also made it clear that if he did get traded but didn't sign an extension, he wouldn't jeopardize his future by pitching in the playoffs. 

The Red Sox were able to take advantage of the conditions that made other interested parties balk. They traded for Crochet during the Winter Meetings, sending the White Sox a package that included Kyle Tyle, Braden Montgomery, Chase Meidroth, and Wikelman González. Crochet immediately became the staff ace, and he reinforced that with an epic run during spring training, striking out 30 batters and allowing just one run over 15 2/3 innings. After impressing again on Opening Day, it's hard to imagine that Crochet could push expectations even higher, but the new contract should do it. He'll be the face of the rotation into the next decade.