The Chicago White Sox decided not to trade pitcher Garrett Crochet at the MLB trade deadline. The team has lost every game since the All-Star break and cashed in their chips on multiple players. Crochet was expected to be the best player traded at the deadline but remains in Chicago. The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal shined some light on why that might be.
“Crochet is a guy that yes had that complicating factor. He said he would only start the rest of the year, only pitch in October if he got an extension that definitely affected things. The way the White Sox saw it, the offseason presents perhaps a greater opportunity and not just for that reason but also because he'll be coming off the season. And by then in the offseason team will not just be trading prospects, they'll be willing to trade major league players.”
Crochet's value resides in his two years of team control after 2024, something Rosenthal notes will still be true in the offseason. He also cited the Corbin Burnes trade as an example of teams giving up MLB players in the offseason. Crochet will finish out the season with the White Sox. If a trade comes, it will be this winter.
Where could the White Sox trade Garrett Crochet?
The White Sox' rebuild will last much longer than Crochet's tenure there. They should trade him this offseason and cash in on his value for young players. The list of teams interested in Crochet will be similar to the group attached to him at the trade deadline.
The Orioles made a similar move for Corbin Burnes before the 2024 season. Burnes is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and if he leaves, they will be in the same position as last year. They have the top prospect pool in baseball and could offer a massive haul of players for Crochet. The fact that Crochet was not traded implies that the Orioles left top prospect, Jackson Holliday, out of the negotiations.
The Minnesota Twins called the White Sox about another one of their pitchers, Erick Fedde. He ended up on the St. Louis Cardinals because the Twins were hesitant to pay the high price. After the season, they should be willing to move big prospects to land Crochet. A rotation led off by Pablo Lopez and Crochet would immediately make them contenders for the AL Central with the Cleveland Guardians.
Over in the National League, you can never rule out the Los Angeles Dodgers when it comes to a big acquisition. They just made a trade of their own last offseason for Tyler Glasnow and it has worked out so far. With Clayton Kershaw getting older and coming back from injury, they could use a lefty starter for next season.
Crochet would be a great fit to fortify the Dodgers' rotation behind Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. While they did acquire Jack Flaherty at the deadline, he is a rental and it will be cheaper in terms of money to acquire Crochet. With massive contracts for Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman, that is valuable.
Follow Us
Subscribe