Red Sox’s Garret Crochet Breaks Silence On World Baseball Classic Change
TAMPA, FLORIDA – SEPTEMBER 19: Garrett Crochet #35 of the Boston Red Sox looks on in the dugout prior to a game against the Tampa Bay Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field on September 19, 2025 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
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The Boston Red Sox will open up their Spring Training in a few weeks, but fans of the team will have a chance to see several of the team’s players in a more competitive setting during the World Baseball Classic.
The international tournament will see Red Sox pitcher Garrett Whitlock on Team USA, outfielder Jarren Duran on Team Mexico and the trio of Wilyer Abreu, Willson Contreras and Ranger Suárez on Team Venezuela, among others.
And, at least temporarily, Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet seemed ready to join them.
“Obviously, it would be a huge honor,” Crochet said in the middle of last season, according to Chris Cotillo of MassLive. “I’d hope the organization would view it as an honor as well. If I was asked, I’d definitely enjoy participating and I’d love to participate.”
Boston Red Sox Ace Garrett Crochet Reverses World Baseball Classic Decision
But after Crochet said he would participate in the tournament for Team USA, he opted to reverse that decision when he was finally asked and he has now spoken out about why.
“I had plans to do it but it came down to innings and doing what was right,” Crochet said, according to The Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham.
After leading the American League with more than 205 total innings last year, Crochet eclipsed his total from 2024 — his first season as a full-time starter — by more than 50 innings. So the Red Sox are probably relieved to hear that he didn’t want to further strain his arm before next season by participating in the tournament.
Boston Red Sox Ace Garrett Crochet Reveals Personal Reason For Skipping World Baseball Classic
But Crochet also noted that he decided to do “what was right” by skipping the tournament, and that was a reference to a major change in his personal life.
“When last season ended and then my daughter was born, everything kind of fell into my lap,” Crochet added, per Abraham. “I had to do what was best for my family and for my team.”
This offseason, that has meant building up carefully going into Spring Training and avoiding the extra travel that would be required to play with Team USA. And by skipping the tournament, Crochet will also have a better chance to mesh with the Red Sox’s new-look rotation, which now includes Suarez, Sonny Gray and Johan Oviedo.
Though the tournament’s organizers and fans are likely disappointed that Crochet won’t pitch in the World Baseball Classic, he did outline some compelling reasons for his absence. And his country’s team seems pretty set in the rotation even without him, as superstar pitchers Tarik Skubal and Paul Skenes will be leading the rotation in his stead.
