BOSTON — The Red Sox avoided arbitration with three important members of their pitching staff on Thursday, agreeing to terms on one-year deals with lefty Garrett Crochet ($3.8 million), as well as righties Tanner Houck ($3.95 million) and Kutter Crawford ($2.75 million), a source told MLB.com.
The club has not announced the agreements yet, but is expected to at some point Thursday evening.
- Get Red Sox tickets for the 2025 season
The one arbitration-eligible player Boston has left is outfielder Jarren Duran, who had a breakout 2024, including being named the Most Valuable Player of the All-Star Game.
The news of the deals with Crochet, Houck and Crawford came on the same day all teams were required to exchange arbitration figures with eligible players.
- What is salary arbitration? An explainer
Though the exchange deadline has passed, the Red Sox could still reach an agreement with Duran in the coming days. Arbitration hearings start next month.
Duran started 160 of Boston’s 162 games in ’24, delivering a batting line of .285/.342/.492 with 111 runs, 48 doubles, 14 triples, 21 homers 75 RBIs and 34 stolen bases.
Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow acquired Crochet from the White Sox in December in a deal for four prospects. At this point, Crochet represents the club’s biggest acquisition of the winter as he could be on the verge of becoming an ace after a strong first full season as a starting pitcher for the White Sox in ’24.
Houck developed into Boston’s ace for the first half of the 2024 season, joining Crochet as an AL All-Star. But he tailed off in the second half, perhaps due to the heaviest workload (178 2/3 innings) of his career.
Crawford also got off to a strong start in ’24, but tailed off late. He tied for the Major League league with 33 starts, so his ability to post every day was no small thing for Boston.
