Red Sox's Craig Breslow Gives Bleak Garrett Crochet Extension Update On Opening Day

Can the Red Sox turn the tides?

Feb 28, 2025; Clearwater, Florida, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Garrett Crochet (35) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at BayCare Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images / Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

On the day Garrett Crochet will make his highly anticipated Boston Red Sox debut, the team is also dealing with an uncomfortable reality.

Crochet had self-imposed an Opening Day deadline for a potential extension with the Red Sox during spring training, saying he would shift his focus to baseball once the season officially began. Well, the season is beginning, and at the moment, there's no extension.

The Red Sox traded four top prospects to get Crochet, and they only have him under team control for the next two years. Not locking him up to a long-term extension in advance of free agency would be something of a doomsday scenario, and though it could obviously still happen, the price tag could skyrocket.

However, the discomfort of not having Crochet locked down appears to be something Red Sox fans will have to get used to.

On Thursday, Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow told the media an extension with the 25-year-old fireballer was unlikely at this time, according to a report on X from MassLive's Chris Cotillo.

"Breslow says to not expect an extension with Crochet and that he has been outspoken about his desire to table talks past today," Cotillo wrote.

Though he's only had one season as a starting pitcher, Crochet is on a soaring trajectory. He punched out 209 batters in just 146 innings last season, and in spring training he struck out a league-high 30 batters in just 15 2/3 innings. If he keeps up that pace for a full season, he'll be a top Cy Young Award contender.

The Red Sox had to get uncomfortable when they got rid of four potential big-leaguers to acquire Crochet. At some point, they're going to have to get uncomfortable again by authorizing a massive expenditure to keep him around past 2026.

For now, we can all sit back and enjoy watching Crochet rocket three types of fastballs past helpless big-league hitters. But if those talks really are off the table until at least October, Breslow had better prepare to act with some urgency.

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