Red Sox All-Star Garrett Crochet Breaks Silence On Memorable 2024 Trade Refusal

The lefty had to protect himself...

Feb 28, 2025; Clearwater, Florida, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Garrett Crochet (35) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at BayCare Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Garrett Crochet plays for the Boston Red Sox, and that only happened because of what the lefty did at the 2024 trade deadline.

As was typically the case for the last few seasons, the Red Sox only made moves at the margins during the deadline. Meanwhile, everyone around the sport was waiting to see where Crochet would be traded... until the lefty changed everything by taking matters into his own hands.

Crochet made it known that he would not pitch for a team that acquired him in the playoffs unless he received a contract extension first. That effectively killed trade talks before they could really get off the ground, allowing Crochet to finish his first season as a starter with the lowly Chicago White Sox.

Nearly eight months later, Crochet opened up during an interview with Baseball Isn't Boring's Rob Bradford about why he made the decision he did, speaking from his new team's home at Fenway South in Fort Myers, Fla.

"I know when it came out a lot of people were looking at it as greedy... I didn't, by no means, feel like I was demanding it because I wanted money or security," Crochet said. "It was more so in the fact that I was establishing myself as a starter and kind of getting away from the idea that teams viewed me as a potential high-end reliever."

"I don’t owe a team that I’m not on anything, so for me, that was the way to protect myself. It's like, I'n finally healthy, (and) what about a team that's making a playoff push that has no intentions of ever extending me?”

Crochet also said he received hate comments on his Instagram from fans after he made the decision, and was glad to have the opportunity to clear things up.

The 25-year-old wound up pitching 146 innings for the White Sox last season, which was nearly triple his previous big-league career-high. He's said during spring training that he's ready to throw without restrictions as the Red Sox's projected ace in 2025.

The Red Sox have to be glad things transpired the way they did, because they were able to find the ace they've been searching for over the last few years. Now, they have to get to work on hammering out that extension Crochet still clearly wants to make the trade worth all the prospects they gave up.

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