The Boston Red Sox are entering the 2025 campaign with some heightened expectations after they put together a solid offseason of work. Easily their biggest move saw them acquire starting pitcher Garrett Crochet in a blockbuster trade with the Chicago White Sox, and a recent poll indicates that expectations for him in his first season with his new team are quite high.

Crochet broke out in 2024 with the White Sox, as he posted a strong 3.58 earned run average while racking up 209 strikeouts to earn the first All-Star selection of his career. Now that he’s playing for a team that is far more competent than last season’s Chicago squad, while also being utilized like a true ace, a poll published by The Athletic indicated that their staff believes Crochet will end up winning the American League Cy Young Award in 2025.

“Our staff sees this pretty clearly as a three-man race between last year’s winner and two guys whose talent exceeds their resumes. Nearly 80 percent of our voters picked Garrett Crochet (10 votes), Logan Gilbert (eight votes) or Tarik Skubal (eight votes),” Chad Jennings of The Athletic wrote.

Garrett Crochet has high expectations for first season with Red Sox

Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Garrett Crochet (35) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at BayCare Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

There are some concerns surrounding Crochet, as he struggled down the stretch last season, and he only has one season of success as a starting pitcher under his belt in the majors. Crochet has dazzled throughout spring training, though, as he posted a sparkling 0.57 ERA over 15.1 innings while also striking out 30 batters.

As noted, the competition will be stiff, but if Crochet can handle the full workload that comes with being a de facto ace, while transitioning from playing on one of the worst teams in MLB history to a playoff contender, he has a shot to take home the award. And chances are if Crochet wins the Cy Young, they will find themselves playing postseason baseball come October.