Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow pulled off a fantastic trade earlier in the week, acquiring left-handed starter Garrett Crochet from the Chicago White Sox for a package that included four of Boston’s top-20 prospects.
While most are excited about the Red Sox landing a top-of-the-rotation starter, there are questions about his ability to hold up for a full season.
The White Sox drafted Crochet in the first round of the 2020 MLB draft, and he was pitching out of the bullpen in the majors just months later. He pitched a full season in 2021, making 54 appearances and posting a 2.82 ERA over 54 1/3 innings.
Crochet missed the entire 2022 season with Tommy John and returned for 13 bullpen appearances in 2023 (3.55 ERA).
In 2024, Crochet transitioned to become a starting pitcher in Chicago, and while his team was horrendous, he was a bright spot, making 32 starts and posting a 3.58 ERA, 1.068 WHIP and 12.9 K/9 while earning All-Star honors for the first time in his career. However, he still only pitched 146 innings, and he was limited down the stretch.
Speaking with the media on Friday, Crochet answered questions about the transition from reliever to starter.
“It was easier said than done,” he said (via. MassLive). “But at the same time, I think I was able to take it in stride really well. You’re just getting outs; you’re just happen to be getting more of them. For me, there really wasn’t a big adjustment.”
Will he have limitations going forward?
“In terms of how long my leash will be,” Crochet said, “I hope to not even be wearing a collar in the second half of next year. (Being limited) was frustrating in a lot of ways, but at the same time, I understood the usage concerns. There were a lot of things I was working on in the second half that I could have expanded on had the innings been a little bit more normal. But at the same time, those were the cards I was dealt and I was just getting my work in as best I could.”
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