The Boston Red Sox are back to spending big after years of operating like a small-market club.
First, the Craig Breslow-led front office made a statement by signing star third baseman Alex Bregman to a three-year, $120 million contract. Then, on Monday, they opened John Henry's checkbook again, inking left-hander Garrett Crochet to a six-year, $170 million extension.
Boston acquired Crochet from the Chicago White Sox during the offseason in exchange for a package of prospects, including catcher Kyle Teel. The bold move was made to give the starting rotation a legitimate ace, something it has lacked in recent years. Now that Crochet is locked up long-term, the Red Sox will hope he lives up to the hype as a perennial Cy Young contender.
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NBC Sports Boston's Michael Holley is among those encouraged by the deal. He shared his instant reaction to the extension during Monday's Boston Sports Tonight.
"I think it's a great signing," Holley said. "And it makes sense to me because when they acquired Crochet, there was conversation about, 'Well, they brought him in, but they're not gonna sign him.' I was thinking, 'OK, why not?' He's 25, you gave up one of your top prospects to acquire him, you're the Boston Red Sox. It makes all the sense in the world. You think he's an ace, go ahead and sign him to a contract.
"So now that they've signed him, there's more evidence that the Red Sox are getting back to being the Red Sox team that you remember from 2017, 2018, 2019. They went out and they got Alex Bregman. They went out and they acquired Crochet. Now, they're signing Crochet. Theo Epstein is back with the organization as a consultant but may be even more influential than your typical consultant. They are getting back to the big business Boston Red Sox, and that is my main takeaway from this deal."
Michael Hurley joined Holley in praising the Red Sox' move, noting that the risks that come with extending Crochet don't outweigh the risk of letting him hit free agency.
"I guess if you want to be critical of this one, you might say, 'There's the risk, the injuries, he hasn't done this, he hasn't done that.'" Hurley said. "All true, but there's an equal risk in just saying, 'We don't need to sign him now, we'll try again in a couple years when he's a free agent and he's gonna be making 45, 50, 55 million dollars. This is actually in a lot of ways safer than that."
Crochet established himself as one of the game's most dominant pitchers in 2024, notching a 3.58 ERA with a 1.07 WHIP and 209 strikeouts in 146 innings. He started Boston's 2025 season opener on Thursday, allowing two runs on five hits over five innings with four strikeouts in a 5-2 win.
Watch the full Boston Sports Tonight segment with Michael Holley and Michael Hurley below or on YouTube: