Garrett Crochet is still aiming to return to the Red Sox before the end of the season, but the shoulder injury that has cost the left-hander most of 2026 has now impacted his future with Boston, too.
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.
The terms of Crochet’s contract specified that if the pitcher spent at least 120 consecutive days on the IL with a left arm injury anytime between 2026 and 2031 -- the six years covered by his extension -- the Red Sox could void his opt-out clause and add the ’32 team option. It gives the club a potential additional year of control over the 2025 American League Cy Young Award runner-up, who had a 6.30 ERA in six starts before landing on the IL on April 29, retroactive to April 26, with left shoulder inflammation.
It’s not the first time an injury clause added by the Red Sox has paid dividends for a club. In 2015, right-hander John Lackey earned the league minimum salary after missing a significant portion of the 2014 campaign to injury, thanks to a clause in Lackey’s contract with Boston before he was traded to the Cardinals.
Now throwing from 90 feet and adding intensity, Crochet is aiming to make it back as a reliever for a Red Sox team that has an MLB-best 25-11 record since the All-Star break and currently sits in the second AL Wild Card spot.