Garrett Crochet is now just days away from his first Opening Day start as a member of the Boston Red Sox. He has made it clear that he would prefer to not negotiate a contract extension during the season.
In theory, that puts a deadline on those talks for this season. The Red Sox don’t need to extend Crochet before Thursday's season-opener – he is under team control for another year after this – but the cost of a long-term deal could skyrocket if the 25-year-old ace has the kind of season everyone hopes he has.
Appearing on Audacy Sports’ Play Tessie podcast, Crochet shared his mindset on contract talks as he puts the finishing touches on his spring training prep, saying that he doesn’t anticipate a deal getting done before Thursday but that he is nonetheless excited about the possibility of being in Boston long-term. Listen to the full interview above.
“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.”
The Red Sox acquired Crochet from the Chicago White Sox in December in exchange for prospects Kyle Teel, Braden Montgomery, Chase Meidroth and Wikelman Gonzalez. Crochet wrapped up an impressive spring training with a 0.57 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 15.2 innings across five outings.