New Red Sox ace finishes dominant spring with 9 Ks, but extension less than likely

For months, the Red Sox have identified a contract extension for top starter Garrett Crochet as a major priority. Barring something unexpected, the club won’t get one done before Opening Day.

Garrett Crochet's first regular season start in a Red Sox uniform will come Thursday. (Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)Getty Images

A source with knowledge of the talks told MassLive late Friday that a Crochet extension is less than likely before he starts for the Red Sox on Opening Day (Thursday). There is believed to be a large gap between the sides at present.

Crochet acknowledged that reality in a tacit way after his final Grapefruit League start against Pittsburgh.

“I think that right now, we’re just looking forward to getting through the season,” Crochet said.

Unless things change significantly in the next six days, Crochet — who has repeatedly said he doesn’t want to talk about a long-term deal once the season begins — will enter his first season with the Red Sox with the team having just two years of control over him. If the Red Sox don’t lock him up, they risk the 25-year-old potentially viewing free agency as a more palatable approach as the winter of 2026-2027 draws nearer.

Appearing in the WEEI radio booth during Wednesday’s game, team president/CEO Sam Kennedy seemed to set expectations relatively low when asked about a potential Crochet deal.

“He and his family need to decide is Boston where they want to be, and as the three of us (in the booth) know, it’s not for everybody,” Kennedy said. “But I think given his mindset and makeup he’ll have a lot of success here if that’s what he chooses. We are making it a priority to try and extend a lot of our own players that are currently under control and he would fit into that category. Excited about conversations there but we don’t want to push too hard and rush it if it’s not the right time for him.”

Crochet’s first spring in a Red Sox uniform has been a smashing success. The lefty struck out nine batters and allowed five hits in 5 ⅓ shutout innings against the Pirates on Friday and finished Grapefruit League play with a dominant 0.73 ERA while striking out 30 batters in 15 ⅔ innings.

“I’m really excited and feeling good. The four-seam, sinker, cutter combo today felt really good,” Crochet said. “Things could have gone like (expletive) today but as long as those three felt good, I’d feel really confident going into Opening Day. Obviously, things went well so a little added confidence there.”

The Red Sox, who gave up four solid prospects (Kyle Teel, Braden Montgomery, Chase Meidroth and Wikelman Gonzalez) to acquire Crochet in mid-December, have been excited by how good he has looked on the mound since the beginning of camp.

“We got the pitch count to where we wanted to. Now, he’s ready for Thursday,” said manager Alex Cora. “They put some good at-bats and got some hits, but when you have stuff like that, you can get some swings and misses and get out of innings.”