Garrett Crochet, Red Sox Reportedly Agree to Historic 6-Year, $170M Contract Extension

The Boston Red Sox traded for Garrett Crochet this past offseason and reportedly ensured they will keep him for the foreseeable future Monday.

ESPN's Jeff Passan reported the American League East team and southpaw agreed to a six-year, $170 million contract extension that begins in 2026 and features an opt-out after 2030. Passan noted it is "by far the largest deal ever for a pitcher with 4+ years of service."

There wasn't necessarily significant urgency when it came to getting a deal done since players do not become free agents until they reach six years of Major League service time or are released from their teams.

In essence, the Red Sox could have kept him for the next two years without this extension but jumped at the chance to lock him down at this stage of his career. 

Passan provided more context to the record-breaking numbers:

Rob Bradford of WEEI noted Crochet had a self-imposed deadline of Opening Day for any contract extensions but said the talks were "fairly down to the wire." That suggested there wasn't a large gap between the two sides, which the pitcher further confirmed.

"I never got that feeling," he said when asked if there was a notable gap. "You would rather it be that way than have the conversation one time and it's a large gap, where I'm over here thinking I'm a really good pitcher and there would be a gap, meaning they're thinking you are less than you."

While they didn't come to terms on an extension before Opening Day, being that close set the stage for Monday's developments.

Boston sent prospects Kyle Teel, Braden Montgomery, Chase Meidroth and Wikelman Gonzalez to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for Crochet in December as it looked to spark a turnaround after missing the playoffs in each of the last three seasons.

The Red Sox immediately put him under the spotlight and handed him the ball for an Opening Day start against the Texas Rangers, and he allowed two earned runs while striking out four in five innings of work during the 5-2 victory.

It was more of the same after the left-hander was an All-Star in 2024 with a 3.58 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 209 strikeouts in 146 innings as a bright spot for an otherwise poor White Sox team. 

Crochet is just 25 years old and will now have plenty of time to build on his first All-Star campaign over the coming years with the Red Sox.