FORT MYERS, Fla. – By Wednesday’s deadline for pitchers and catchers to report to the Boston Red Sox spring training complex, Garrett Crochet was already nearly two weeks into his stay.
And so far, so good for the young left-hander, who said he’s finding it easy to bond with his new teammates and enmesh himself in the pitching staff.
“Going back to (Fenway) Fest it seems like there’s a good group cohesiveness going on already,” Crochet said on Wednesday.
He’s still learning everyone’s names, but there’s another newcomer who needs no introduction. Crochet was thrilled when the Red Sox signed former Los Angeles Dodgers starter Walker Buehler shortly after his own trade.
“Personally speaking that’s a guy that I’ve looked up to and admired since I was in high school,” Crochet said. “I followed his career at Vanderbilt and then into the big leagues, so it’s really cool to be able to share the locker room with him, watch his bullpens, and kind of pick his brain afterwards. That’s something I look forward to doing for the rest of the year.”
Crochet was a fit for Boston all along but until the trade went through during the MLB winter meetings in December, there was no guarantee that they would actually land him. In fact, for much of that week in December the Red Sox were a fringe team in the rumor mill.
A long-term extension is the logical next step. Crochet is two seasons from free agency, and doesn’t turn 26 until June 21. On Tuesday, manager Alex Cora described Crochet’s build as “like Chris Sale, but stronger.” The Red Sox haven’t had a true lefty ace since Sale’s early seasons.
Crochet’s agent and the front office began those conversations earlier this winter, he confirmed at Fenway Fest last month. On Wednesday, he reiterated that he saw merit in staying in Boston long-term.
“I think that the long-term security is definitely something attractive,” he said.
However, after being on a “short leash” with the Chicago White Sox last season, he’s also hoping to push the envelope with the Red Sox this year.
“With last year being my first taste of starting, part of me also wants to see what I could do with the full season, part of me also wants to see what I could do with the full season of innings workload,” he said. “Obviously I made every start last year. Felt like I was prepared to go the distance in the second half, but was kind of, you know, on a short leash. So, you know, part of me wants to see what I could do in a full season before, I suppose, locking myself into a certain bracket of player.”
Regardless, Crochet’s priority is becoming part of and contributing to this team, not being a superstar in a class of his own.
“I didn’t want to come in and be boisterous in any way,” he said. “I was able to fit in, slide right in. Guys were very welcoming from the jump.”
And without even playing a single game in a Red Sox uniform yet, he feels Boston could be home.
“As soon as I was traded to the Red Sox, that I knew this was a place that I could see myself long-term,” he said. “I think that when you talk about a historic franchise like this one, it’s one that any player would be lucky to call home for whatever duration of time that may be. It’s not exactly fully in my hands, but I’ve been seeing the big picture as soon as the trade went through.
