As goes pitching sensation Garrett Crochet, so does the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox are 65–53 as they play their final game of their series on the road with the San Diego Padres on Sunday. Currently in the top American League Wild Card spot with 44 games to play in the regular season, pitching is what has led them to where they are now.
A team batting average of .254 isn’t strong enough to carry the club to an American League East title, or even a Wild Card sweep. A healthy Crochet is what could carry the ballclub beyond their final three games of the regular season against the Detroit Tigers at Fenway Park.
As talented as Boston’s lineup is, any disruption of Crochet from the starting rotation promises innings of struggle and difficulty in gaining wins.
Rarely is one teammate, pitcher, or position player of such high importance that if they experience a slump or injury, an entire season could go south. The Red Sox knew that they were trading for such a star last December at MLB’s Winter Meetings in Dallas. Management knew that if they were to win another World Series championship, with their last coming in 2018, they had to have one of the best arms in the game.
Crochet was their guy. After executing the trade with the lowly Chicago White Sox, who in 2024 finished the season with 41–121, Boston principal owner John W. Henry enthusiastically signed Crochet to a contract extension.
Six years, $170 million is the Red Sox way of welcoming Crochet aboard and, at the same time, demonstrating a commitment to winning for their fans base.
One look at MLB’s pitching statistics, and it’s clear the Red Sox are getting a good return for their spending on Crochet.
Prior to Sunday’s game in San Diego, Crochet led the American League in wins, at 13–4. He is second to Detroit’s Tarik Skubal in ERA, at 2.25. When it comes to strikeouts, Crochet has 183, to Skubal’s 181. Along with the chase to postseason play, Crochet and Skubal are promising a tight race for who wins the American League Cy Young Award.
During Crochet’s last five starts, all won by Boston, he posted a 1.91 ERA. To remain ahead of the talent-rich New York Yankees in the East, Crochet’s current workload of 148.1 innings needs to grow exponentially. There can’t be any missed starts or short stays on the injured list.
When the White Sox took their licking in 2024, the club was only able to muster up 41 wins. In 32 starts last season, Crochet earned a 6–12 record. In 146 innings of work, Chicago’s top draft pick in 2020 scored 209 strikeouts. These were numbers teams couldn’t ignore. The Red Sox became the most aggressive to secure Crochet’s services in the off-season. Crochet is a player for Boston to build their roster around for a successful future.
Two months back, on June 9, Boston called up from their Triple-A affiliate, Worcester Red Sox, Roman Anthony to make his MLB debut. Anthony, 21, rapidly worked his way up the Red Sox farm system with only three seasons in the minors, and has made an immediate impact with his bat and in the outfield.
Looking to improve on their 81–81 record of last season, Boston, as they did when acquiring Crochet, locked up Anthony for the long haul. An eight-year $130 million contract extension was offered to and signed by the rookie. The Red Sox fan base understands Boston’s management’s commitment to continuing a winning tradition with the club.
But securing the services of Crochet was the key. Fireball relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman, now with 356 career saves (21 saves so far this season), was another key free-agent signing for the Red Sox this past off-season. All the pieces to a winning club, by talented individuals, are what continue to keep Boston ahead of clubs with higher payrolls.
To many, Crochet’s style of pitching, and being a lefty, has generated comparisons to two others, one current pitcher and one Hall of Fame hurler. As Crochet prepares for his next start on Monday in Houston against the Astros at Daikin Park (formerly Minute Maid Park), each trip to the mound he gives the Red Sox a legitimate opportunity to win. The same can be said for Atlanta Braves’ Chris Sale and former Seattle Mariner Randy Johnson.
Over their first five MLB seasons, Crochet, Sale, and Johnson, overnight, became dominant strikeout artists. Johnson registered 577 strikeouts en route to finishing his career with 4,875—second all-time among MLB pitchers. Sale, a nine-time MLB All-Star and Cy Young Award winner, currently the Ace of the Braves’ staff, who also began his career with the White Sox, rang up 737 strikeouts during his first five big league seasons. With seven weeks remaining in the regular season, Crochet has 477 strikeouts under his belt.
The Red Sox are on a roll. Winners of eight of their last 10 games, under the guidance of manager Alex Cora, and with a healthy Crochet, there is little reason not to believe that the Red Sox will make a return to the postseason in October.
