Apr 8, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Garrett Crochet (35) pitches against the Toronto Blue Jays during the first inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images Eric Canha-Imagn Images
He's the ace of the Boston Red Sox. Is he good enough for Team USA?
That's the question that U.S. manager Mark DeRosa could be asking himself before the 2026 World Baseball Classic. And for Garrett Crochet, it could be an interesting decision about whether or not to participate in one of the sport's crown jewel events.
Crochet hasn't been a premier starting pitcher for long, but make no mistake: that's exactly what he is. He struck out a ridiculous 209 batters in 146 innings for the Chicago White Sox last season, and now owns a 1.38 ERA through four starts in Boston.
Team USA has typically had a tough time getting pitchers to participate in the WBC, since it takes place during spring training. But if all the top American hurlers opted in, would Crochet have a spot?
Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report believes so. Rymer listed Crochet among seven American starting pitchers on his recent projection of the ideal Team USA roster for the 2026 WBC.
"To be clear, this isn't so much a 'starting rotation' as a collection of pitchers who could provide bulk innings," Rymer wrote. "Crochet has fanned 12.4 batters per nine innings since transitioning from the bullpen to the rotation last spring."
The other American starting pitchers Rymer listed were: Paul Skenes, Tarik Skubal, Hunter Greene, Zach Wheeler, Logan Gilbert, and Logan Webb.
The Red Sox wound up sending nine players to the WBC when the event was held in 2023, including two (Jarren Duran and Masataka Yoshida) who are still on the 40-man roster. But they haven't had a representative appear in a game for Team USA since 2013 (Shane Victorino).
Could Crochet break that trend? If so, he'd electrify a global audience with his strikeout stuff. But he also just signed a $170 million contract extension and has a history of arm trouble, so it's a tricky call for both him and the Red Sox.
