That Garrett Crochet is still with the Chicago White Sox this off season is a surprise in itself but that was Crochet’s own doing. Seemingly going in trade at the end of summer trade deadline, he forced the White Sox to hold on to him.
During his first full season as a starter, Crochet let it be known according to a report from The Athletic that he might not be willing to pitch in the playoffs for a new team unless he got some sort of a contract extension.
That pushed a trade off the table, the White Sox had already begun to limit his pitch count. Crochet had thrown 85 pitches or more in sixteen of his first nineteen starts. He did not throw more than 77 pitches in any of his last thirteen.
Crochet had already had a Tommy John surgery (2022) and had only worked out of the bullpen previously in seventy two MLB appearances dating back to 2020.
Sox hope for more than Sale trade
The White Sox of course finished last season as one of baseball’s worst teams ever with 121 losses. They need more than just a lefthanded pitcher and hope to do better than the team’s December 2016 trade of Chris Sale.
In that deal the Sox picked up Yoán Moncada, Michael Kopech, Victor Diaz and Luis Alexander Basabe. Moncada and Kopech helping at the major league level but clearly no stars there.
To answer the question on the title of this article, everyone wants his talent because free agent pitchers Corbin Burnes, Blake Snell, Max Fried and Jack Flaherty are going to be mega expensive and as they say, you never have enough pitching.
Crochet was one of baseball’s most dominant pitchers of 2024 when he did get innings. A 3.58 ERA, 1.068 WHIP. a fastball that averaged 97.1 mph that batters hit just .198 against with a .295 slugging percentage.
The lefty is arbitration eligible for two more seasons and projected to make a fraction this season of what the top free agents are about to get at $2,9 milllion.
Many teams are calling
Teams are lining up at the White Sox door as we speak to have a go at general manager Chris Getz, clearly at the most important moment of his brief tenure as GM which began in August of last year.
It’s going to cost a lot. The Mets are interested. The same team that traded for Sale (the Red Sox) would be a good match for Crochet. There’s the Phillies. There’s always the Dodgers. The Orioles? Why not?
How could the Yankees not be curious. And a surprise team is always a possibility. The only real surprise would be Crochet with the White Sox in 2025.
