Barring a disastrous finish to their regular season or an extraordinary run by one of the teams below them in the Wild Card race, the Boston Red Sox seem primed to make the postseason for the first time in three years.
The Red Sox's improved starting rotation has been a huge part of their success this season, and Garrett Crochet has been the most important piece of the puzzle. The lefty has posted a 2.59 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 11.18 strikeouts per nine innings over 205.1 frames this season. He's a frontrunner in the American League Cy Young race, and he owns the fifth-highest win probability added in MLB (per Thomas Nestico on Twitter).
Crochet's dominance has been undeniable, and MLB insider Jeff Passan agrees. In his group of 2025 MLB awards, which he calls "The Passans," the Red Sox and Crochet won "Transaction of the Year" for the trade with the White Sox which brought him to Boston.
Boston shipped four top prospects to Chicago — Kyle Teel, Chase Meidroth, Wikelman Gonzalez and Braden Montgomery. Despite their potential, which Teel, Meidroth and Gonzalez have shown well with the White Sox, the Red Sox made the right call to get Crochet in their rotation.
MLB insider Jeff Passan names Red Sox's Garrett Crochet trade the best of the 2025 season
"In terms of sheer impact, the Red Sox's December acquisition of Crochet is unbeatable," Passan wrote. "And it's among the most infrequent of trades, too: one in which both parties emerge elated. Without Crochet, 26, headlining the rotation, Boston isn't sniffing a playoff spot."
Crochet alone would have made the Red Sox's rotation far better than it was last season, but massive steps from Brayan Bello and a return to form for Lucas Giolito helped give it a much-needed boost. Still, Crochet has posted the best season, by far, and stopped multiple losing skids in their tracks, saving the Red Sox the most. On the same day Passan released his awards, Crochet was named Boston's MVP by The Athletic, an easy decision given his ERA, strikeout rate and his team lead in innings pitched (subscription required).
The Crochet trade has been the single-biggest difference maker on the field for the Red Sox this year and his acquisition is more than worthy of Passan's Transaction of the Year award. The Rafael Devers trade was also listed among potential winners of this category, but the deal hasn't looked great for either team involved so far. The acquisition of Crochet — one of two extremely gutsy moves by Craig Breslow this season — has paid dividends for the Red Sox, and will hopefully continue to do so into October.