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The Chicago White Sox are coming off the worst season in the franchise's history. They lost a record 121 games in 2024, including losing 21 games in a row. Clearly, this team will have no immediate success and, therefore, is looking to the future. With that in mind, they pulled off the biggest trade of Major League Baseball's offseason thus far.
On Wednesday, the White Sox completed a blockbuster trade, sending All-Star pitcher Garrett Crochet to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for four talented prospects.
Boston sent over highly touted catching prospect Kyle Teel, outfielder Braden Montgomery, infielder Chase Meidroth, and right-hander Wikelman Gonzalez. The White Sox already boasted one of the deeper farm systems behind the plate. The acquisition of Teel strengthens that further.
But if the White Sox were expecting a player ready to make a large impact immediately in the big leagues, they might be waiting a bit. Teel is the closest to game-ready. He has the tools but not the pedigree and experience.
If this trade sounds a little familiar, it is because it should. Seven years ago, the White Sox made an eerily similar trade with Boston. They shipped Chris Sale to the Red Sox in exchange for four top prospects.
White Sox's Garrett Crochet trade reeks of Chris Sale deal
In 2016, the White Sox completed a different blockbuster trade with the Red Sox. They sent their lefty ace, Chris Sale, to Boston. The Red Sox were in win-now mode, and Chicago was looking to rebuild. So, they brought in an elite left starting pitcher at age 28.
I don't have to tell you how old Crochet is. I am sure you can guess.
Of course, Sale helped the Red Sox win the 2018 World Series as their ace. Boston will hope for the same outcome, except this time, it came with even less risk.
The White Sox did not even acquire one of the top three prospects in Boston's farm system. Those spots are reserved for outfielder Roman Anthony, shortstop Marcelo Mayer, and utility man Kristian Campbell. Teel was the highest-ranked prospect at No. 4.
At least in the Sale trade, Chicago landed top prospects. But even that did not work out as planned.
Michael Kopech was the highest-rated prospect back then. He failed miserably as a starting pitcher for the White Sox. They eventually moved him to the bullpen before trading him to the Los Angeles Dodgers this season. Ironically, Kopech then helped the Dodgers win a World Series as an integral part of their pen.
The White Sox also acquired Yoan Moncada as part of that deal. He did manage to lead the league in something once: strikeouts in 2018. All jokes aside, Moncada has been an utter disaster in Chicago. He is a career .254 hitter and has hit more than 17 home runs once in his eight seasons.
The other two prospects are not even worth mentioning. In essence, the Red Sox received the most dominant pitcher in the game at the time for peanuts. Far too often in baseball, teams ship off elite players for the promise of prospects emerging. The Pittsburgh Pirates are masters at it. But it rarely works out for that team.
Now, Crochet is not a Sale, at least not yet. But the talent is undeniable, and he may just be a perennial All-Star. The hope is that at least one of the prospects pops up at some point in the future.
