The largest question mark surrounding the White Sox this season is not if they will trade Garrett Crochet but when.
According to former MLB general manager Jim Bowden, front office executives he has spoken with believe that Crochet will be dealt before the end of the year. Executives also reportedly listed the Red Sox, Orioles, and Dodgers as the most likely landing spots. These teams should come as no surprise. The Orioles and Dodgers were two of the teams reportedly involved in trade discussions for Crochet during the trade deadline. The New York Post has also listed the Mets as one of the teams in the hunt.
670 The Score’s Bruce Levine reported that Chris Getz is targeting position players in the Crochet trade to help boost an offense that ranked last in almost every major category last season.
“We are focusing on position player return,” Getz told Levine. “That is our primary focus in any trade talks. The right players have to be there. We can’t force anything. We certainly need to improve our offense. That is very clear. That is what we need to do in any trade or free-agent acquisition.”
Crochet has been the subject of trade speculation since the trade deadline despite being under team control until 2026. In late June USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported that the White Sox “quietly engaged in brief contract extension talks” with Crochet. But failing to reach an agreement the front office quickly shifted its focus to trading their All-Star left-hander. After using the fifth overall pick in the draft on left-hander Hagen Smith, the writing was on the wall that Getz was trying to cash in on Crochet’s early success.
Crochet led the White Sox in strikeouts and games started during his first season in the starting rotation, posting a 3.58 ERA with 209 strikeouts in 146 innings of work. Those numbers could have been even better without the shotty defense behind him. Crochet’s 2.83 expected ERA placed him inside baseball’s top ten percentile. His 5.5 percent walk rate, .206 opponent expected batting average, and 97.2 mph average fastball velocity placed him well above league average.
Given his performance, the White Sox are expecting a massive haul for Crochet. But his value goes far beyond the numbers on the back of his baseball card. The 25-year-old only made $800K last season which was only $60,000 more than the league minimum. This offseason he will enter his second year of arbitration and is projected by Spotrac to make just $2.9 million, which is a very team-friendly salary for a pitcher of Crochet’s caliber. However, if last season’s Dylan Cease sweepstakes taught us anything, it is that Chris Getz will not rush to make a trade unless he feels his asking price has been met.
