Garrett Crochet: ‘With this contract comes a lot of responsibility’
When you sign a six-year, $170 million contract with the Boston Red Sox, you aren’t only expected to show up and play baseball. You become a face of one of the most storied franchise in sports, one whose success or failure largely rests on your shoulders.
Garrett Crochet understands that burden is now his to bear, but it’s also one he feels ready to take on.
“With this contract comes a lot of responsibility,” Crochet said. “I intend on wearing this Red Sox uniform for the next several years with honor and respect and just being the best player I can be.”
Earlier this week the Red Sox and Crochet finalized a new contract that will keep the left-hander in Boston through the remainder of the decade and beyond. The contract runs from 2026-31 and includes an opt-out after the 2030 season, ensuring Crochet will anchor the Red Sox rotation through his prime years.
Speaking to reporters prior to Friday’s home opener, and while seated beside chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and CEO Sam Kennedy with principal owner John Henry in the front row, Crochet expressed gratitude to be able to call Boston home and excitement for the opportunity to be entrusted as the club’s ace. Crochet specifically highlighted January’s Fenway Fest fan event as an eye-opening moment, and that ever since he arrived in December’s blockbuster trade the organization has done everything it could to make him feel at home.
Breslow echoed that sentiment, saying that getting to know Crochet over the past few months only solidified their belief he was someone worth committing to.
Red Sox boss on Garrett Crochet deal: ‘It came together pretty quickly’
"In this day and age of data-driven decision making I think it's really easy to appreciate the 6-foot-6 left-handed starter with a 100 mph fastball and a devastating cutter. As dominant as those pitches may be, I think it's also important to take a step back and remember that an investment like this is a commitment to a person," Breslow said. "And over the last several months we've gotten to know Garrett as a leader, as a worker, as a teammate and as someone who is singularly focused on being the best possible pitcher for the Boston Red Sox that he can be."
"We have full confidence this is the type of guy that can lead our rotation for a long time," he added later.
The contract extension closes the book on what has been a chaotic period for Crochet and his family. This time last year Crochet was making the transition from the bullpen to the starting rotation, and by midseason he had established himself as one of the game's breakout stars. But pitching for a moribund Chicago White Sox team, he also found himself subject of relentless trade speculation, all while blowing past his career-high in innings pitched.
Crochet was finally traded in December during the Winter Meetings, but with two years of team control remaining before hitting free agency, the left-hander could have conceivably waited to hit the open market, enabling him to choose his next team while potentially landing an even bigger payday.
Why did committing to the Red Sox now make the most sense?
"I think when you look at the organization as a whole it's a very well run org. and the talent from top to bottom just gives us the opportunity to compete for years to come," Crochet said. "Along with Sam Kennedy, Bres, (Alex Cora), the entire top was just very welcoming to me and I feel like they were that way with players throughout the minor leagues as well. It's just a very well run organization that I look forward to being a part of."
Now, Crochet and the Red Sox will be together for a long, long time.
