The Red Sox may be inching toward getting Garrett Crochet back on a mound this season, but Sunday also delivered a contract wrinkle that works in Boston’s favor for the long haul.
Crochet, out since April 25 with shoulder and lat injuries, has started to ramp up again. He’s been throwing and is now out to 90 feet with “intensity.” If he returns this year, it would come in a bullpen role, which matters because he wouldn’t need to build back up to the same workload required to start and cover six or seven innings.
That recovery progress came with a bigger organizational payoff on Sunday. Boston’s six-year, $170 million extension with Crochet included a clause that would add a $15 million club option for the 2032 season if he spent 120 or more consecutive days on the Injured List during a season because of an arm injury. That threshold was officially reached Sunday, according to MLB.com’s Theo DeRosa.
“Sunday marked Crochet’s 120th consecutive day on the injured list, triggering a key clause in his six-year, $170 million extension with the Red Sox. Crochet can no longer opt out of his contract after the 2030 season, and a $15 million club option for the 2032 season has been added to his deal,” DeRosa wrote.
The result is straightforward: Crochet no longer has the opt-out after the 2030 season. He’ll be owed $30 million in 2031, and Boston now holds a $15 million club option for 2032. Crochet was 26 when the 2026 season began, recently turned 27, and will be 32 when the 2032 season opens.
Boston would obviously prefer to have its top starter healthy and taking the ball. But with Crochet’s rehab finally showing signs of movement, the Red Sox now have at least one more season of team control baked into the deal.
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