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BOSTON -- The fact that Garrett Crochet went to the Red Sox in a blockbuster deal with the White Sox for four prospects eight years after Chris Sale did the same is somehow fitting.

Crochet has heard Sale comparisons for years, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

In 2010, the White Sox made Sale the 13th pick in the 2010 Draft out of Florida Gulf Coast University. Later that year, after just 21 appearances in the Minors, Sale pitched in 21 games for the White Sox, making an unusually fast track to the Major Leagues.

In 2020, the White Sox made Crochet the 11th pick in the Draft out of the University of Tennessee. With no Minor League season that year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Crochet’s first taste of professional baseball was in the Majors. He made five relief appearances just months after being drafted.

Sale and Crochet both have electric left arms and started their careers as relievers before swiftly vaulting to the top of the rotation.

Sale went to the Red Sox when the White Sox were rebuilding and won a World Series championship in just his second season.

Crochet looks to follow that same path.

“The similarities are quite comical,” Crochet said in an interview with MLB.com’s White Sox beat reporter Scott Merkin last week. “I remember going through the Draft, I was getting comparisons. A lot were Andrew Miller, but some were Chris Sale as well.

“That was something I always took pride in, that they would compare me to a guy of his caliber. And I could only hope to have a career like he’s had but at the same time, for me it’s always been trying to pave my own way and make a name for myself. But these similarities keep popping up. At this point, it’s something I can’t avoid. Call it fate or what you want, but it’s pretty cool.”

Last year, there was another similarity: They were both 2024 All-Stars. Crochet represented the American League as a member of the White Sox and Sale was with the National League in his first season with the Braves.

Here are some takeaways from Crochet’s first meeting with the Boston press.

With two arbitration-eligible seasons left, any thoughts on a contract extension?

Crochet: I really haven't had much time to give it a lot of thought. For me, this time of year, the main thing that I'm focused on is my training and getting ready for Spring Training. So you know, until I'm told otherwise, that's going to be my main focus.

Thoughts on an evolving pitching mix in advance of upcoming meetings with Boston’s pitching department?

Crochet: I’ve been formulating some thoughts on my own, as far as how I incorporated my sinker later in the year, and feeling like I have five pitches that I could throw at any moment. It will definitely be a fine-tuning game and I'm sure that there's a lot of ways to skin the cat in that regard. But ultimately, I don't think that I'll change the fastball/cutter usage a whole lot. I feel like that's kind of my bread and butter, and a big reason why I had success last year. But the addition of the sinker, I think, is a conversation worth having.

How did your transition to the rotation come about?

Crochet: I was drafted with the notion of becoming a starter at some point down the line. Tommy John kind of threw a wrinkle into that, and then recovering from Tommy John didn't go as smoothly as I had hoped for. But for me, it was a conversation that I felt was necessary for [Chris] Getz and I to have and luckily, he felt the same way.

From a health perspective, the potential of it being better having a set routine than not was something that we were both intrigued by. It was something that I always felt would benefit me in the end and luckily it did. In terms of expectations I had on myself, it's tough to say I surpassed them because I hold myself to a high standard, but there were definitely points in the year where I don't want to say I shocked myself, but I was very relieved with how well it was going.