The trade rumors surrounding Chicago White Sox All-Star pitcher Garrett Crochet continue. A majority of them have the New York Yankees interested in acquiring him.
Crochet's trade market is going to be interesting as USA Today's Bob Nightengale reports Crochet is the best pitcher available but has the most questions surrounding him. This is his first year as a starter and his first full season after Tommy John surgery wiped out all of his 2022 season and most of his 2023 campaign.
He will have an innings limit in the second half. So that means a team is going to have pay a king's ransom for an All-Star pitcher that will probably be used as a high-leverage reliever down the stretch and into October.
While he does have two more years of club control, the present will dictate him not logging a lot of innings in September if the team wants to preserve his arm and use him as a starter in the playoffs. Not exactly the ideal situation a team in a tight playoff race would want for an ace pitcher.
However, unless the Detroit Tigers trade Tarik Skubal, Crochet is the best starting pitcher the trade market has to offer.
General manager Chris Getz must value Crochet highly even if there are questions about what he can do now.
First, it is because he is the best pitcher on the market and that usually means a team gets four premium prospects like with how the Houston Astros gave up four prospects to the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2019 for Zack Greinke. The Seattle Mariners also traded four premium prospects to the Cincinnati Reds for Luis Castillo in 2022.
Second, he is a player the White Sox drafted and developed into an All-Star pitcher. The main reason the Sox want to deal him is by the time they are competitive, he will likely be hitting free agency and the club has made it clear they are not interested in paying his price to keep him long-term. Trading him away because of penny-pinching is not going to sit well with an apathetic fan base.
Getting a great return is the only way to keep that weary fans from completely abandoning the team forever.
Finally, he is the one asset the team can move to get a foundational impact bat the franchise must acquire if they hope to turn things around. That is why it is reported the Sox have rejected offers from the San Diego Padres, the Los Angeles, and the Yankees
The Yankees need starting pitching if they want to catch the Baltimore Orioles in the standings and hold off the Boston Red Sox. The key is seeing if they are the best trade partner to give the Sox what they need to get back to being competitive by 2026.