Make no mistake about it, the Chicago White Sox did really well in the Garrett Crochet trade last winter.
If you're going to deal a controllable ace, you need to get an absolute haul back, and early returns suggest that Chris Getz hit on all four of the players sent to Chicago by the Boston Red Sox.
Kyle Teel is one of the best young catchers in baseball with 2.0 fWAR as a rookie. Chase Meidroth is right behind him, with 1.9 fWAR in his rookie season and a mature approach at the plate. Wikelman González has a 2.66 ERA in 16 bullpen appearances this year, and outfielder Braden Montgomery is currently the No. 1 prospect in the White Sox organization.
I'm not here to complain about the White Sox trading Garrett Crochet, even with the great season he is putting together in 2025.
However, I do think Crochet's unbelievable first year in Boston is a bad look for the White Sox because of how they had been using him prior to 2024.
Garrett Crochet is the MLB innings leader
Garrett Crochet has logged 197.1 innings pitched this season over 31 starts. That gives him the most innings pitched of any player in Major League Baseball. With what will likely be his final start of the season on Wednesday, Crochet should easily surpass 200 innings for the first time in his career.
Crochet is also the current leader in strikeouts with 249. He is 17-5 with a 2.69 ERA this season and will likely be a finalist for the AL Cy Young Award.
The Red Sox got what they paid for - a certified ace with some of the most electric stuff in baseball. Seeing Crochet be so dominant, I can't help but wonder why the White Sox were holding him back for so long.
Chicago was so rushed to get Crochet in a big league uniform to provide reinforcements for the bullpen that they pigeonholed him into a role that capped his value.
From 2020-2021, Crochet had a 2.54 ERA in 59 appearances out of the White Sox bullpen. He was touching 101 mph with his fastball back then and recording 10.9 K/9, but Chicago never gave him an opportunity to prove himself as a starter.
garrett crochet, who the white sox had on an innings limit for 4 years, currently leads all MLB in innings pitched. his W/L record is 17-5
— Jay Cuda (@JayCuda) September 23, 2025
Injury kept Crochet out for all of 2022 and most of 2023, and he had to ask to convert to a starting pitcher in order for the White Sox to give him a chance. That bet on himself worked out for Crochet, but it's crazy to think about how Chicago would have kept him in the bullpen had he not forced the issue.
Had the White Sox developed Crochet as a starting pitcher originally, perhaps he would have been throwing 200 innings with 250 strikeouts when he was still on the South Side.
The previous regime botched things over and over again, and Garrett Crochet was definitely one of them.