The return of former White Sox ace Garrett Crochet to Rate Field drew six television cameras and 15 reporters to a pregame press conference Friday.
The 25-year-old left-hander played parts of four seasons for Chicago from 2020 to 2024, going 9-19 with a 3.29 ERA.
He was initially a setup man before moving into the starting rotation in 2024. He was then traded to the Red Sox in December for four prospects and has since agreed to a six-year, $170 million contract extension.
“I didn’t really think much of it, coming back here,” said Crochet, who is scheduled to start Sunday. “Now that I’m here, it’s cool. But it’s still just trying to win the series.”
Crochet was a first-round draft pick in 2020 and made his debut that season, pitching six scoreless innings of relief. He said the team approached him about an extension later in his career, but those talks never got off the ground.
“In this business you don’t really wear one color your entire career,” Crochet said. “For me right now, I’m just happy to be a Red Sox.”
“But once it actually went through, it was just like dunking your head in the water. It happened so quickly,” he said. “But it went pretty smoothly after that.”
Crochet pitched 146 innings for a team that lost 121 games last season.
“Things just never happened to go our way,” he said. “But, overall, I loved it. The organization that drafts you, people say, typically treats you the best. So it was all I knew.
“But being over here in Boston, the love has been the exact same.”
Crochet said it was not hard for him to move on knowing the White Sox are building and the process is likely to take several years.
Infielder Chase Meidroth, one of the players the Red Sox sent to the White Sox for Crochet, was called up Friday and made his major league debut at second base.
The key player in the deal for the White Sox, catcher Kyle Teel, hit .200 with a .730 OPS in his first 12 games for Triple-A Charlotte.
Crochet was asked if he hopes the White Sox benefit from the trade.
“Not really,” he said. “If it does, cool. If it doesn’t, cool.”
Not official yet.
The Red Sox have agreed to terms with veteran catcher Yasmani Grandal on a minor league contract. But the deal is not yet official, and manager Alex Cora declined to comment.
Grandal, 36, appeared in 72 games for the Pirates last season.
The contract includes an opt-out if Grandal is not on the major league roster by May 1. It would pay him $1.35 million if he does return to the majors.
Assuming the deal goes through, Grandal would join Seby Zavala in Triple-A Worcester. They were the two primary catchers of the 101-loss White Sox in 2023.
Bello takes a step.
Brayan Bello threw 64 pitches over four innings for Worcester against Columbus at Polar Park. He allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits with five strikeouts and no walks.
Cora has said the Sox would not want to bring Bello back until he can work deep into a game. Whether four innings qualifies remains to be seen.
Bello has not pitched particularly well in his three rehab starts, allowing seven earned runs on 12 hits over 9⅔ innings. But the right-hander has struck out 14 and walked only three.
Getting his chance
New White Sox manager Will Venable was Cora’s bench coach from 2021 to 22. “Very proud of him, obviously,” Cora said. “He interviewed [for managerial jobs] a few times. That process sometimes takes longer than you want. But he was very patient about it, and I’m happy that he’s managing in the big leagues.” Venable sent Cora a bottle of tequila before the game … Run prevention coach Jason Varitek turned 53 on Friday … Right-hander Robert Stock cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A. He pitched two innings of relief for the Red Sox on Monday … Worcester radio voice Cooper Boardman was called up to the majors for the series to work with Will Flemming on WEEI. Cora was among those who congratulated him before the game.
