"Reminds me of Tarik Skubal" - Aaron Boone's brother draws bold comparison for Red Sox's $3,800,000 star

Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal delivered a historic 2024 campaign en route to winning the American League Cy Young Award unanimously. Skubal pitched his way to a Triple Crown last year, driving the Tigers to their first playoff appearance after a decade-long absence from the postseason.

Former All-Star infielder Bret Boone reckons Boston Red Sox newcomer Garrett Crochet could potentially have a similarly dominant campaign in 2025 as Tarik Skubal did last year. He believes fellow new arrival Walker Buehler will benefit a great deal with the southpaw pitcher leading the Red Sox starting rotation.

Bret Boone played 14 years in the major leagues and is the elder brother of New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone. He presently conducts The Bret Boone Podcast and drew comparisons between Tarik Skubal and Garrett Crochet on the show this Sunday. [4:23 - 5:16]

"We know what Buehler is capable of. If Buehler is the Buehler of two years ago, before the Tommy John [surgery], wow! To put him in the two-hole behind Crochet, who, by the way, reminds me a lot of Skubal," Boone said. "He won the Cy Young but he [also] won the Triple Crown in the American League."

"Really impressive," Boone added. "Crochet reminds me a little bit of that."

The Red Sox traded away four prospects to the White Sox in exchange for Corchet last December. He signed a $3.8 million pre-arbitration deal with team and becomes a free agent at the end ofthe 2026 season.

Tarik Skubal gifts a Rolex to his teammate

Tarik Skubal gifted a watch to Tigers catcher Jake Rogers in spring training (Image Source: IMAGN)

Tarik Skubal recently said he had gifted a Rolex watch to his teammate Jake Rogers when the latter had arrived at the Detroit Tigers spring training camp in Lakeland, Florida. Rogers had held the glove behind home plate for every pitch that Skubal had thrown during his phenomenal 2024 season.

"He got a nice little gift on his wrist, a nice Rolex,” Skubal told MLB Network on Friday. "I just gave it to him the first day I saw him here."

Rogers was, naturally, delighted to receive the present.

"It means a lot, what he did,” he said. "I don’t know if I would have ever bought myself one. He was kind enough to do that, and then him and [his wife Jessica] engraved it. It’s an incredible piece."

Former Tigers Cy Young winner Justin Verlander was known to have gifted a watch to his catcher each time he pitched a no-hitter.