Garrett Crochet knew exactly what he wanted when his White Sox tenure was nearing its end.

As WEEI’s Rob Bradford noted in a column published Monday, Crochet wanted a contract extension from whatever team acquired him via trade. The request limited Chicago’s pool of potential suitors, and to the outside observer, it might have seemed like a big ask from someone who only has 32 career MLB starts under his belt.

So, Crochet was pleased when Bradford asked him about the request on the “Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast, as it allowed the star left-hander to clear the air.

“I’m actually glad that you asked because I know when it came out a lot of people were looking as greedy,” Crochet told Bradford, as transcribed by WEEI. “I didn’t, by no means, feel like I was demanding it because I wanted money or security by itself. It was more so in the fact that I was establishing myself as a starter and kind of getting away from the idea that teams viewed me as a potential high-end reliever. I was having a good year and I was staying healthy for the first time in my career. In 2020, flexor strain. In ’21 I had the back thing. Then I blow out. Then coming back from TJ (Tommy John) there were complications there. Now I’m starting on a set routine and I’m feeling good every fifth day and I’m able to go out and perform. Why should I jeopardize that for a team I don’t really owe anything to?

“That was the weird part. A lot of people were sending me hate stuff on Instagram and I was like, I don’t owe a team I’m not on anything. For me, that was the way to protect myself.”

At the start of Red Sox spring training, Crochet noted how he sees Boston as a place he’d like to call his MLB home long-term. That said, the southpaw is focused on having a productive first season with the Red Sox, so he’s leaving all of the extension business to his representatives and Boston brass.