When Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow addressed the media at Globe Life Field on Opening Day, he felt there was a real possibility that contract talks with Garrett Crochet would have to be put on hold. The two sides had yet to agree on any kind of framework despite months of negotiations, and Crochet had indicated he didn’t want to continue talking into the season.

And yet, both sides had a sense a deal might be close.

“I was thinking there was a decent probability we were going to need to pick up these conversations next offseason. Fortunately we both recognized that there could be common ground here and it wouldn’t take a ton given all the legwork that had been created,” Breslow said. “In the end we were able to get this over the line and it came together pretty quickly.”

The two sides ultimately re-engaged and the end result was a six-year, $170 million extension that will keep the 25-year-old left-hander in Boston through the rest of the decade and beyond. The deal runs from 2026-31 and includes an opt out after 2030. Crochet will make approximately $28.3 million annually over the course of the deal, potentially a massive bargain for a pitcher who is already regarded as one of the best in baseball and who is only just entering his prime.

Speaking to the media again Tuesday over Zoom, Breslow described the agreement as a huge step forward for the Red Sox.

“My hope is that this is another step in charting the course towards sustainable organizational health, towards vying for division titles, World Series championships, year over year,” Breslow said. “I think it further cements where we are in terms of our competitive window and that we’re ready to make good and honor the commitment we’ve made to our fans over the last six months.”

Breslow said the two sides began discussing an extension shortly after Crochet was acquired in a trade with the Chicago White Sox this past December, and that talks really picked up once the two sides got to know each other better. Breslow said seeing Crochet interact with the club staff and meeting his family helped assure him that this was someone worth making a significant commitment for.

He also downplayed the notion that there was any added urgency to get a deal done now knowing Crochet’s price could potentially increase next offseason, and he also acknowledged that the deal isn’t without a measure of risk.

“There’s always risk associated with these types of contracts, I think we recognize that, but at the same time we’re talking about an elite starting pitcher who is 25 years old and someone we believe will continue to develop and whose best days are ahead of him,” Breslow said. “We’re looking not at what he has done but what we believe he’s going to be able to do, and when you couple the talent with the commitment to be the best pitcher he possibly can, this is the type of bet we’re excited to make.”

As far as the timing went, Breslow said the club and pitcher hadn’t lined up on any aspect of the deal — financial or structural — when Crochet’s self-imposed deadline of Opening Day arrived. That week Crochet had publicly poured cold water on the possibility a deal could be reached, but following his Thursday start he also said he felt good about where things stood and that he didn’t believe the two sides were far apart.

Breslow said the club was prepared to honor Crochet’s desire not to negotiate in-season, but given where things stood he also felt like the club owed it to themselves to at least try.

“We wanted to honor that, but also felt like as an organization we needed to put our heads on our pillows at night feeling like we did everything we possibly could to keep this guy in a Red Sox uniform for as long as possible,” Breslow said. “And if that hadn’t been the case then we needed to re-engage.”

Now, the Red Sox and Crochet can rest easy knowing they’ll be together for years to come.