Inside The Red Sox

Red Sox Announce Obvious Garrett Crochet Decision to Begin Spring

The Boston Red Sox wasted no time talking about their ace.
Sep 30, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Garrett Crochet (35) pitches against the New York Yankees during the first inning of game one of the Wildcard round of the 2025 MLB playoffs at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Sep 30, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Garrett Crochet (35) pitches against the New York Yankees during the first inning of game one of the Wildcard round of the 2025 MLB playoffs at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

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Spring Training kicked off for the Boston Red Sox and the organization got a pretty obvious decision out of the way.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora made it clear right away that big lefty Garrett Crochet will be the team’s Opening Day starting pitcher.

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"He'll start in Cincinnati for Game 1," Cora said. "Let's get that [expletive] over with. And then from there we will have an off day on Thursday, right? He's in a good spot. Obviously, a different life, right? The sleeping part of it is different now, in a good way. Just have to make sure that he's healthy, keep him fresh. Like I told him in Texas when he was upset because we took him out after [five innings], I think it was. I said, 'Bro, to do cool things in October, we have to take care of you from Day 1.' He did a great thing in October. I think it was 118 pitches, right? For him to do that, we need to take care of him at the beginning of the season."

The Red Sox obviously made the right call

Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Garrett Crochet
Sep 30, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Garrett Crochet (35) pitches against the New York Yankees during the third inning of game one of the Wildcard round of the 2025 MLB playoffs at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Crochet spoke about the call during his media availability on Tuesday as well.

"He had joked about it and jabbed about it in the past, but you know I'm trying to work like I'm still trying to make the team," Crochet said. "To start for this team on Opening Day again is a pretty cool feeling. Getting back into throwing again. It was as smooth of an offseason as I've had. You know, just, felt like I ended on a good note. Took my typical four or five or six weeks off. Had the birth of my daughter, so that actually pushed me to six. But no, everything has been going good."

There's no drama here. Just an ace doing what aces do. Tuesday was the first day of Spring Training for Boston and it didn't take long for the club to publicly get the easy decision out of the way.

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Patrick McAvoy
PATRICK MCAVOY

Patrick McAvoy's experiences include local and national sports coverage at the New England Sports Network with a focus on baseball and basketball. Outside of journalism, Patrick received an MBA at Brandeis University. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Boston Red Sox On SI, please reach out to Scott Neville: scottneville21@gmail.com

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