While the Boston Red Sox have many questions going into the season, Garrett Crochet isn't one of them.
Going back into the depths of the offseason, the Red Sox ace, a former Tennessee Volunteer, was working out alongside others at his ironic college rival (h/t @aria_gerson), Vanderbilt University, to get himself back into game shape, as every player does. He spent part of the winter working with a Vanderbilt staffer named Tyler Herb, a former pro-turned-pitching-coach for the university.
Despite the historic rivalry between the Volunteers and Commodores, Crochet embraced the opportunity to train with quality coaching talent, setting the stage to tweak his arsenal ahead of Spring Training.
According to the Boston Globe, Crochet approached Herb and said, "I wish I could do this a little bit like Tarik Skubal." Herb suggested a simple but profound tweak, which was to adjust his changeup grip to make it function more like a splitter.
Red Sox Fans Should Be Excited About Garrett Crochet's Pitching Change
While the changeup was Crochet's least-used pitch, throwing it only about four percent of the time in 2025, despite a solid whiff rate. The splitter variation he's now working on, with a new grip he picked up over the offseason, can change that dynamic entirely.
Early practice sessions revealed a pitch with sharper downward action and late movement, similar to the likes of the man he lost to in the Cy Young race, now two-time winner Tarik Skubal. Skubal, similar to Crochet, never had a great changeup to start, but developed it to become one of the biggest pitches in his arsenal.
The mental adjustment was just as important, however. Crochet admitted he had long been hesitant to fully embrace splitter-type grips, partly because many young pitchers are taught to fear them due to strain concerns.
With Herb's guidance and repeated bullpen work, he found a version that feels comfortable and repeatable, increasing the likelihood he'll deploy it in competitive situations.
Crochet's 2025 season was one for the ages. He finished second in Cy Young voting, in which he posted a 2.59 ERA and led the league with 255 strikeouts and led the AL with an 11.2 K/9. Yet even after dominating everyone in his path, the hard-throwing lefty wasn't content with being the runner-up.
Crochet's offseason focus hasn't been on his new pitch. He's also zeroed in on sharpening his fastball command and refining his four-seam delivery.
"One good year doesn't make you a great player. I've got to earn my stripes every year," Crochet said of his ongoing development, per NESN's Tyler Maher.
If that new grip pays dividends in Grapefruit League action, Crochet could become even more formidable. Crochet's new splitter can potentially keep hitters off balance late in the count and increase his strikeout profile even further.
With his electric fastball, biting sweeper, and now his developing splitter, Crochet's 2026 arsenal could be one of the most feared in baseball alongside Skubal's, giving Red Sox fans plenty to be excited about this season.