From Juan Soto to Garrett Crochet, it’s been a wild week for the Red Sox

Reviewing those pivotal hours between Sunday night and Wednesday morning that will change the Red Sox for a long time…and who knows what might happen next?

What a rollercoaster ride we’ve been on this week, huh? I’ve been faithfully documenting it every step of the way, but things have happened so quickly that I’ve had to rewrite this article at least three times…and I’m not sure this version will hold true for very long.

Because I’m feeling cheerful, and the tide has turned in our favor, let’s review! Think back to the dark ages of Sunday evening. It might as well be a lifetime ago!

There was an earlier version of this article in which I referenced the chess-playing metaphor we’ve been seeing since Craig Breslow extended a Qualifying Offer to Nick Pivetta. Breslow was duly praised for his intelligent read on the free-agent market and for positioning the Red Sox to benefit. The stove was certainly heating up, with Blake Snell, Willy Adames, and others inking deals, but most people of course were waiting to hear about the big prize: Juan Soto. Even though we never knew for sure how committed the Sox were to this chase, and even though signing him didn’t seem entirely likely anyway, we were seemingly in it, and that in itself was intoxicating.

Raise your hand if you got even a little excited at the prospect. Yeah. Same.

He didn’t sign with us and I wondered what Breslow’s next move would be.

Then, I went into a bit of an emotional spiral. I was sad and I let myself feel sad, even though I told myself that I’d always known better. And I read whatever came my way, and felt even worse, and that’s exactly why they tell you not to spend too much time online!

Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images

First, the Red Sox were crowned 2024’s Interest Kings. The truth hurts. We’d really known it all along.

Then, as predicted by Literally Everyone, other players started coming off the board—and fast. In this phase of my post-Soto hangover, I began a new version this article. That version took the form of a timeline, listing the tumbling dominoes that were making such a mess of our offseason.

There isn’t going to be anyone left! — Me, panicking out loud to my dog

At one point, it started looking like Breslow’s big moves were going to be signing Chapman, and extending the QO to Nick Pivetta. That’s one crappy move and one move that’s not even really a move. That can’t be our offseason!

News was arriving, fast and furious, but none of it good for the Sox.

Well, maybe not none of it. Jen McCaffrey intriguingly reported that Breslow said the signing of Aroldis Chapman wasn’t official yet, leading to some speculation, perhaps even hope, that it might be undone.

That was a momentary glimmer of hope, a distraction really. But there was no doubt things were moving.

Max Fried went to the Yankees, allegedly saying he wanted to sign with the Sox, except they didn’t match the Yankees’ offer.

Reports said the Red Sox didn’t want to pay enough money to sign Corbin Burnes.

Alex Cora and Sam Kennedy allegedly were united against Craig Breslow in wanting to sign Alex Bregman. Now what? My world was collapsing, not only because I don’t want Bregman on our team, but because things got so dark, so fast. Big turmoil in the Sox front office. Been there, done that.

Somewhere along the line, the thought began to creep in that Pivetta might return to the Sox. If there’s any way to sum up a losing offseason, that would be it: shoot for the moon but wind up crawling back to someone who rejected our QO. We went from hopeful on Sunday to utter despair by Wednesday morning. Other pitchers who weren’t necessarily on our radar, like Nathan Eovaldi, signed elsewhere, tightening the net around us.

I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue.

And then. Oh boy, then the clouds parted! The first report came in that the Red Sox were about to sign Garrett Crochet.

And then just like that, the deal was finalized. Well. All is forgiven! THIS is a move, Craig Breslow! I’m sorry to say goodbye to Kyle Teel but my god, what a great feeling to finally have a pitcher we can call an ace. And that’s what the minor leagues are for anyway: to make the major league team better.

I consumed a ton of online content about Crochet and the signing, and so I will leave it to others to talk about the stats and details. It’s all out there, and it all looks good to me.

All of this raises the question: will needlework become a trend in Boston? I’ll join a sewing circle myself and make beanies for everybody, I’m so happy! Can someone crochet me a sweater with Garrett’s name and number on it? I’m sure I’m not even using the right words, and I don’t know the difference between knitting and crocheting, either. But I think we’re all about to find out.

Postscript: In a little bit of symmetry that’s almost too perfectly ironic to believe, I went to bake a pie last night and my oven wouldn’t ignite. Zip, tepid, COLD. If my stove needed to go cold so that a greater one could get hot, well, there you go. I am here to serve. Baseball gods, I’m happy to take one for the team.