There will always be the possibility of wondering if the White Sox could have gotten a better deal from another team.
It is fair, considering there were a lot of teams that were reportedly interested in Crochet, especially the reported teams that were the finalists.
The final 5 finalists in the Garrett Crochet trade talks before the Chicago White Sox traded him:
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 12, 2024
Boston Red Sox: (who landed him)
Atlanta
New York Yankees
Cincinnati Reds
Philadelphia Phillies
It is worth diving into seeing if the Sox could have done better with the established parameters of thinking the Sox getting a similar return of those teams' fourth, fifth, 11th, and 14th-ranked prospects.
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves would have traded shortstop Nacho Alvarez Jr., catcher Drake Baldwin, outfielder Luis Guanipa, and pitcher Jhancarlos Lara.
In a lot of ways this mirrors what the White Sox got from Boston in terms of three position players and a pitcher.
Except Alvarez Jr. and Baldwin are not ranked in the top 100.
Nacho got a cup of coffee with the Braves this season and had a .861 OPS at Triple-A this season. Baldwin also is at Triple-A, and had a .891 OPS. Again, the Sox would be adding a catcher so there would be folks upset with that part of the deal.
The Sox would have gotten players closer to the big-league level but without the headline of being top 100 guys. That might not have gone over too well with the masses.
Guanipa is 18 and at Single-A while Lara is 21 at Double-A. Guanipa and Lara are both the equivalent of lottery scratch-off prospects. High ceilings but might not even get to the big leagues.
This would not be a better deal than what the Sox got from Boston.
New York Yankees
The Sox would have gotten shortstop Roderick Arias, pitchers Will Warren and Henry Lalane, and outfielder Brando Mayea.
This would be a huge risk as Arias, Lalane, and Mayea are at A-ball or lower. Warren made five starts for the Yankees this season and posted a 10.32 ERA and had a high ERA in the minors.
It is a good thing the Sox avoided the Yankees as it is hard to see them trading their top prospect and No. 14 overall, Jasson Dominguez, especially after Juan Soto has departed via free agency.
Again, thank your lucky stars the Sox did not do business with New York.