One reason Garrett Crochet is so attractive on the trade market is he is expected to only make about $2.9 million next season plus he is still eligible for arbitration in 2026.
That means he is affordable to large and small-market contenders.
That is why it makes sense for the Milwaukee Brewers to finally be reportedly involved in wanting to acquire the White Sox ace in a trade.
The Brewers are among the teams still engaged with the White Sox on Garrett Crochet, sources say. @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 9, 2024
The Brewers are another ideal trade partner for the Chicago White Sox as they have talented positional prospects to offer.
The Cubs and the Boston Red Sox might have more upside players to offer, but the Brewers have some good prospects too.
The Brewers have just two prospects in MLB Pipeline's Top 100, but they have six prospects in JustBaseball's Top 100 list. Bleacher Report has four Brewers' prospects in their Top 100.
The Brewers' top prospect, catcher Jeferson Quero, was a mainstay in MLB Pipeline's Top 100, but he was dropped after missing the 2024 season with an injury. MLB Pipeline also graduated Tyler Black from prospect status (yet they still have them as a Brewers' top-five prospect).
Quero is likely untouchable, even if he is coming off shoulder surgery, even with William Contreras still under team control for a while. That is because Contreras can DH on days he is not catching, so Quero's path to the big leagues is not officially blocked.
Cooper Pratt is MLB Pipeline's 57th-ranked prospect who just completed his first season at A-ball. The White Sox are reportedly willing to take on prospects far away from making their MLB debut, as the front office believes the team is years away from contending.
Black would be another headline prospect in a potential deal. He has been rumored to be available for a player the Brewers believe can upgrade their overall roster.
Black got 49 at-bats this season with the Brewers, where he collected ten hits. He might be the Brewers' starting third baseman next season, but his .803 OPS at Triple-A could be enticing for a team like the Sox to agree to deal Crochet in return.
Black can play first and third base along with center and leftfield. However, he is 24, so he is a bit on the older side for a prospect.
He might also be expendable if the Brewers sign a shortstop in free agency to replace Willy Adames and keep Joey Ortiz at third.
The Brewers also can offer up Yophery Rodriguez and Luke Adams who are position players in the Crew's top 10. There is lots of upside with those two young hitters.
Also, the Brewers have been cleaning up in international free agency, an area the Sox just had to reform with how bad the team was doing there.
Jackson Chourio almost won the NL Rookie of the Year. He is certainly not available, and it is unlikely the recently acquired Jesus Made would be offered. The Brewers have other recently added international prospects in Luis Lara, Filippo Di Turi, and Jadher Areinamo, who come with some high ceilings.
The opinion on the Brewers farm system varies, and that is in part because they recently graduated a lot of their prospects to the big leagues. That also means the Brewers have done a good job developing players such as Chourio, Sal Frelick, and Brice Turang. Maybe getting some bats from that system will help the Sox lineup someday.
Fangraphs, ESPN, and MLB Pipeline ranks the Brew Crew's system 17th. Bleacher Report still has the Crew's system in their Top 10.
The Brewers just lost starter Frankie Montas and will likely lose depth starters Colin Rea and Joe Ross (two pitchers that would be nice to see come to the White Sox) in free agency (the Brewers actually waived Rea). They will get former ace Brandon Woodruff back, but he is coming off shoulder surgery that wiped out his 2024 season.
That is why the Brewers could be interested in getting a rotation boost to pair up with Freddy Peralta, Aaron Civale, and Tobias Meyers.