Tony Vitello: Red Sox 'investing in what they see' with Garrett Crochet extension
Garrett Crochet cashed in on Tuesday when the left-handed pitcher got a six-year, $170 million contract extension from the Boston Red Sox just five months after the club traded for the former Tennessee standout pitcher.
Crochet had a breakout year with the Chicago White Sox last season with a 3.58 ERA over 32 starts. He pitched 146.0 innings with 209 strikeouts to just 33 walks.
“Essentially what those (the Red Sox) are doing,” Tennessee coach Tony Vitello said on Tuesday, “are investing in what they see. First, with the trade, and then obviously he’s around them with work ethic and other things.
“They’re saying, like, ‘Oh, we were right with the trade. We want to be right again.’ So kudos to him. And obviously we’re happy for the organization.”
Tony Vitello: ‘I don’t think he realized how good he could be, and certainly he does now’
In four years with the White Sox, Crochet had a 3.29 ERA in 219.0 innings pitched. The Red Sox traded two prospects ranked in the MLB Pipeline Top 100 for Crochet, along with two other prospects ranked in the top 15 in Boston’s system.
Crochet last season became the eighth former Tennessee Baseball player to be selected for Major League Baseball’s All-Star game and the first MLB All-Star for the Vols since Yan Gomes in 2018.
He was the 11th overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, becoming the 16th first-round pick in Tennessee Baseball history at the time and the first since since Nick Senzel went No. 2 overall in the 2016 MLB Draft to the Cincinnati Reds.
Top 10
- 1New
Baseball Field of 64
Projecting NCAA Baseball Tournament
- 2
ESPN Top 25
Way Too Early hoops rankings
- 3
Pop Isaacs
Creighton guard commits to Houston
- 4Hot
Mel Kiper
2-round mock draft
- 5
Seth Trimble
Announces UNC return
Get the On3 Top 10 to your inbox every morning
By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.
“It’s incredible to look back on just his recruitment process,” Vitello said, “and the start of our time here was the start of his time as well, and then how he developed.
“… The good thing about the people that I work with is they treat everyone as an individual and figure out, what do we got to do to get the most out of this guy? And for him, there was ability there.”
Garrett Crochet pitched two full seasons at Tennessee
Crochet pitched two full seasons at Tennessee, throwing 63.2 innings in 2018 with a 5.51 ERA and 65.0 innings in 2019 with a 4.02 ERA. He made one appearance in 2020 before the season was cancelled due to the COVID pandemic.
During his time with the Vols, he had 149 strikeouts and just 48 walks over 132.0 innings with a 4.64 career ERA.
“I think it’s even a little overrated about how he went from just an average stuff guy to phenomenal stuff guy,” Vitello said. “The stuff definitely got better, but I think he just needed to mature as a baseball player and get routines and really start to figure out what true confidence is, because we all thought he could be real good once we were around him.
“But I think at times, I don’t think he realized how good he could be, and certainly he does now.”
