Former Tennessee baseball star Garrett Crochet received a major pay day on Monday. The Boston Red Sox agreed to a six-year, $170 million contract extension with Crochet on Monday night. The deal starts in 2026 and includes a player opt-out following the 2030 season.
It’s the biggest pitching contract in the history of Major League Baseball for a player with four-plus seasons of service time. The previous largest contract for a pitcher with four-plus seasons of service time was the New York Mets’ Jacon deGrom who signed a five-year, $137.5 million.
Crochet is in his first season with the Red Sox. The Chicago White Sox traded Crochet to Boston this offseason. The tall left-handed pitcher was Boston’s Opening Day starter last week. Crochet allowed two runs on five hits and two walks in five innings pitched as the Red Sox defeated the Texas Rangers 5-2.
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The Chicago White Sox drafted Crochet with the No. 11 pick in the 2020 MLB Draft and Crochet made his Major League Debut later in the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season. Crochet had an effective 2021 season as a reliever but was severely limited in both 2022 and 2023 due to injury.
Crochet elevated into the White Sox starting rotation last season and was one of the few bright spots in a truly miserable year for Chicago. The 6-foot-6 left-handed pitcher threw 146 innings, posting a 3.58 ERA, 1.068 WHIP and 209 strikeouts.
An Ocean Springs, Mississippi native, Crochet was one of the first stars of Tony Vitello’s tenure at Tennessee. The left-handed pitcher was one of the top arms on the 2019 Tennessee team that returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005.
Crochet struck out 81 batters while posting a 4.02 ERA in 65 innings pitched during the 2019 season. He was Tennessee’s ace in 2020 before COVID-19 cancelled the season.
