This season is the first campaign of a rebuild for the Chicago White Sox. The team was officially eliminated from playoff contention on Saturday after a 6-1 loss to the Houston Astros. Yet, the focus must remain on the future, and part of that future for the White Sox will hopefully feature starting pitcher Garrett Crochet. When asked about Crochet's current innings count, interim manager Grady Sizemore touched on the subject to reporters, including the Chicago Sun-Times‘ Daryl Van Schouwen.
Protecting Crochet is an area of focus for the South Siders, as he could very well be a big part of the team's future. The 25-year-old left-hander could potentially be the team's long-term ace, or a very valuable trade piece as the club heads toward a second year of a rebuild led by GM Chris Getz. In either scenario, keeping him as healthy as possible is key.
White Sox look to manage Garrett Crochet's workload
Crochet is having a career year for the White Sox. Despite his 6-9 record, he has a 3.61 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. He also has 176 strikeouts, including nine in Friday's outing against the Astros. He only pitched four innings in the start, hitting his targeted pitch count for the day. He only allowed one hit and one earned run in the outing, helping Chicago notch a 5-4 win over the Astros. Sizemore talked about the pitch count during his meeting with reporters this afternoon.
“When you know that you're gonna be on a limit, whether it's innings or pitches, it messes with your mind,” said Sizemore. “There's no way it doesn't. So, it's hard to go out there and know that you're gonna be on a short leash, and that you're not gonna get to finish what you start. So, for him to just block all that out and stay who he is and keep putting out good performances shows just how tough he is.”
Crochet could be with White Sox for long haul
Protecting Crochet is in the best interest of Getz, Sizemore and the rest of the White Sox organization. The left-hander is incredibly talented, boasting an elite strikeout total so far this season and showing why he was so sought after at the trade deadline by multiple teams. Whether retaining him at the deadline was a smart idea or not, so far it has paid off for Chicago. Yes, the team is arguably the worst in the majors this season. Yet, it needs long-term building blocks.
The lefty has set a career-high in innings pitched so far this year with 124.2, so keeping his arm healthy will be the focus of Chicago's coaching staff for the rest of 2024 and beyond. Hopefully, the plan for their former first round pick is to stay in the Windy City for a long time. After all, the White Sox could use a few long-term pillars, and Crochet could definitely be one of those.
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