The Boston Red Sox did exactly what they needed to do for the starting rotation this offseason.
Boston had a pretty solid rotation in 2024 but knew it wanted to add more high-end talent. That’s exactly what they did by trading for Garrett Crochet and signing Walker Buehler. Both are All-Stars in their own right and have the capability to take the staff to another level.
Crochet specifically is going to be interesting to watch out for in 2025. He’s just 25 years old and was an All-Star in his first season as a full-time starter in 2024 with the Chicago White Sox. Crochet made 32 starts and had a 3.58 ERA while logging an eye-popping 209-to-33 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 146 innings pitched.
One thing that is pretty impressive about Crochet is that fact that is advanced metrics were even more off the charts. He finished in the 98th percentile in strikeout percentage, 93rd percentile in whiff and chase rate, 92nd percentile in fastball velocity, and 91st percentile in expected ERA among others.
Crochet broke onto the scene in a major way in 2024 and Boston pitching coach Andrew Bailey called him one of the top three or top five pitchers in baseball while discussing his role with the team, as transcribed by MassLive.com’s Sean McAdam.
“I think anytime you look around the league and you’re talking about a Top 3, Top 5 starting pitcher,” said Bailey, “as a manager I can only imagine what that means. You wake up and you know that you have a guy going that, there’s not a lot of arms better than that in the game. It’s got to feel really good.
“As a pitching coach, having worked with and coached some players of that caliber in the past, it’s nice because you know that he’s a guy who can get you out of a slump. He can just take over a game and win it. He can go deep into games and give the bullpen a reset. It’s a turn in the rotation that you look forward to — it can win you a series, it can start a winning streak.”
There clearly is a lot of excitement swirling around Crochet right now. If he can live up to this potential, the Red Sox could surprise some people in 2025.
