After 120 consecutive days on the IL with an arm injury, Boston Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet has had his contract extended by a season. That is now expected to keep him with the Red Sox through the 2032 season.
Crochet officially hit that threshold on Sunday. Now, he’s opened up about it and shared that his focus remains on getting healthy enough to help the Red Sox make a playoff push.
“I’ve long since accepted it,” Crochet said, per Tim Healey. “Regardless of that, my goal is to come back and help the team in any way that I can.”
In 2025, Crochet’s first year with Boston, he finished second in Cy Young voting. That was on the back of 32 starts and 205.1 innings pitched, by far the biggest workload of his career, when he had a 2.59 ERA and a league-leading 255 strikeouts. However, Crochet struggled in April of 2026 before landing on the IL, with a 6.30 ERA in six starts.
Why Garrett Crochet is Having His Boston Red Sox Contract ExtendedGettyBoston Red Sox starting pitcher Garrett Crochet
When the Boston Red Sox traded for Garrett Crochet, it was to make him their long-term ace. They proved it quickly, getting a six-year, $170 million contract signed with him. That included an opt-out for Crochet, which could have allowed him to hit free agency after 2030.
Underreported at the time, there was a clause in the contract that if Crochet spent 120 or more consecutive days on the IL, he’d lose the 2030 opt-out. On top of that, the Red Sox would have a club option added for 2032, which is worth $15 million. That means that Crochet is now in Boston through his age 32 season in 2031 and potentially his age 33 season in 2032 before he hits free agency again.
Crochet initially landed on the IL on April 26th with left-shoulder inflammation. It wasn’t expected to be a major issue, but it was worse than initially suspected and he suffered setbacks while trying to recover.
Today, Crochet is nearing a return to play for the Red Sox. He’s rehabbing by throwing from 90 feet with increasing intensity. When he does return, though, Crochet shared that he’ll likely only be able to max out at two innings per outing.
Crochet Previously Spoke About His Red Sox ContractGettyBoston Red Sox starting pitcher Garrett Crochet
This was not the first time that Garrett Crochet has spoken publicly about his contract with the Boston Red Sox. Previously, in July, he shared that he was happy in Boston, so the opt-out wasn’t all that important.
“It sucks, but I mean, what’s the worst thing that happens?” Crochet said. “I’m in Boston for another year? Which is pretty good. This is a place that I wanted to be. That was a clause that was kind of helping the team mitigate the risk, I suppose. And they knew that there was risk. I knew that there was risk. Last year, it’s like, am I outperforming [his salary]? Or does it matter? And now I get hurt, and it’s like, I’m glad that I secured the protection.”
Getting Crochet healthy and avoiding any extended stints on the IL like this one in the future is going to be massive for the Red Sox. If they do that, he should have the talent to more than earn the contract he’s playing on.
“What I felt when I signed the contract was that I wanted to outperform the deal. So it sucks, but there’s still time.”
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