On Monday, finalists for the Cy Young Award were announced in both the American and National Leagues.

To the surprise of no one, Red Sox lefty Garrett Crochet was one of the three names listed, along with Tigers lefty Tarik Skubal and Astros righty Hunter Brown.

At 26 years old, Crochet logged only his second full season as a starter at the big league level, setting career highs in innings pitched (205.1) and strikeouts (255) while also recording his lowest season-long ERA (2.59) across 32 starts.

Crochet was first in the majors in strikeouts, second in wins (18), sixth in ERA, eighth in WHIP (1.03) and 12th in batting average against.

And although Cy Young voting is based on the regular season alone, Crochet put the exclamation point on his season during his Game 1 start against the Yankees in the Wild Card Round, going 7.2 innings with 1 earned run, 4 hits, 11 strikeouts and 0 walks. It was masterful, and it was an announcement to everyone across baseball that this dude is legit, and they should all be terrified by what’s to come as he continues getting better in the latter half of his 20s.

Boston’s front office has to be nothing short of thrilled with their signing of Crochet to a long-term deal early in the season, with he and the team agreeing to a six-year extension worth $170 million, which keeps Crochet in Boston through at least the end of the 2030 season (player option for 2031).

The deal includes performance-based escalators that could increase his earnings by up to $2 million per year in Cy Young voting between 2027 and 2031, and the extension does not include any deferrals.

With what you got from Crochet this season and what the market looks like for guys that have those types of seasons on their resumes, that deal is a bargain for Boston. If he continues at this pace, even for only three or four of the six years he’s under contract, it might end up being among the most team-friendly deals in all of baseball.

Crochet signing that deal early tells you everything you need to know about the guy he is. While he wanted long-term security in his career given his previous history of injury concerns, he was focused on becoming a foundational piece of the team. While he wanted to see what he could do in a full season as a starter for Boston before locking in a deal, he also saw the value in securing a deal with a team he desired early on rather than risk injury in the future. He wanted to make a mutual commitment with the Red Sox, who he felt could finish his career with at some point down the line.

While Skubal was the strong betting favorite to win the award all season, Crochet made a strong case for himself down the home stretch of the season.

We’ll if he gets the big market bump over Skubal and Brown when winners are announced on November 12.

Tom Carroll is a contributor for Roundtable, with boots-on-the-ground coverage of all things Boston sports. He's a senior digital content producer for WEEI.com, and a native of Lincoln, RI.