The Boston Red Sox should be considered one of the favorites to make it out of the American League for the World Series this year. After all, they landed three big talents in Alex Bregman, Walker Buehler, and Garrett Crochet this offseason. When it comes to Crochet, he is proving his worth in spring training.
In five spring training games, Crochet recorded a 0.57 ERA, 30 strikeouts, and eight walks over 15.2 innings of work. That's what the Red Sox want to see from a starting pitcher they gave up four top prospects to acquire. Even though Crochet is under contract through the 2026 season, the Red Sox expressed a desire to negotiate a contract extension upon his arrival. But Crochet set a deadline of Opening Day to reach an agreement, or negotiations would be cut off for the season.
Well, it doesn't seem like Boston's chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has made much progress on that front.
According to Chris Cotillo of Mass Live, the chances of the Red Sox and Crochet reaching an agreement on an extension are "less likely" before Opening Day. Furthermore, Cotillo says that there is a "large gap" between both sides.
Red Sox, Garrett Crochet have 'large gap' in contract negotiations
That's not exactly great to hear if you are a Red Sox fan, especially with Crochet saying that he has no desire to negotiate during the 2025 season.
If Crochet goes into the season without a new deal, he has the chance to increase his asking price, especially if he has a good season. It's important to note that Crochet is entering just his second season as a starter pitcher, after beginning his career as a reliever.
In 32 starts last year with the Chicago White Sox last season, Crochet recorded a 3.58 ERA, a 1.07 WHIP, 209 strikeouts, and 33 walks over 146.0 innings of work.
The hope among Red Sox fans was that the team would lock in Crochet for the foreseeable future. But based on Cotillo's reporting, the odds of that happening by Opening Day, when Crochet taks the mound to take on the Texas Rangers, looks unlikely.