3 reasons the Chicago White Sox should trade Garrett Crochet and the holes in them

The trade speculation around Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Garrett Crochet grew more rampant after his general manager's recent comments.

Chris Getz mentioned Crochet's name unsolicited a lot during his meeting with the media on Tuesday as he discussed trade rumors surrounding the team. That has only fueled the notion that the Sox will trade an ace pitcher they just developed before the MLB trade deadline.

It makes sense to trade Crochet, especially since the team has the worst record in franchise history through this point in the season. The farm system needs more bats and Crochet is a trade asset that can be leveraged to get them.

Let's examine the reasons Getz should trade Crochet and the holes in them...

The timeline for being competitive does not match up with how many years the team has Crochet under club control.

Getz admitted he does not have an exact timeline of when the Sox will be competitive again. 2026 feels like the earliest point as to when the team will be ready.

That is pushing it.

The Sox would need Jonathan Cannon to take his recent string of 18.2 innings and turn it into the calling card of his career. The franchise would need the pitching prospects they have in the pipeline to develop as well.

They would also need Edgar Quero, Bryan Ramos, Colson Montgomery, and Jacob Gonzalez to develop into quality big-league hitters. Plus, Getz would need to make some shrewd moves to achieve 2026 being the year the Sox are ready to compete for the AL Central crown.

If the Sox are competitive in 2026, it is also the last year of club control the White Sox will have over Crochet. The timeline not matching up is a good reason to move Crochet to make sure the team gets something for him before possibly losing him for nothing while doing a lot of losing on the field with him on the roster.

The hole in that reason to trade him is the Sox can always sign him to an extension.

They should extend him since he is 24. His age and career trajectory alone are why he should be signed to a five-year extension. Doing it now is one way to save on the cost it will take to extend him down the road.

Now ownership loathes to pay pitchers, but there is precedence for extending young pitchers. The Sox did it with Chris Sale, Jose Quintana, and John Danks. Danks is an example of the fear ownership has of paying pitchers as he got hurt and never was the same.

Crochet has already had his Tommy John surgery, so as long as he can avoid major injuries, he is a player worth investing in.

Outside of Luis Robert Jr, Crochet is the best asset the White Sox have to land prime prospects.

Crochet is making $800k this season, so he is a bargain and his age along with his club control has already been discussed. He has already reached stud status and for all intents and purposes, he has also reached ace status.

Some contenders are going to need starting pitching. The Baltimore Orioles rotation has holes in it because of injuries. The same goes for the Milwaukee Brewers. The New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers are always looking for starting pitching.

Plus, those teams would love to have a young southpaw they can have at the top of their rotation for more than just a few months.

The holes in that reason are numerous...

First, the White Sox farm system needs bats. The word on the street is the Sox want position prospects with high upside who are close to the big-league level. Those are prospects teams are cautious to give up.

Second, do you trust the White Sox to develop prospects they get back in a deal? Developing pitching does not seem to be a concern as the organization seems to have a plan in place and the right guy in charge of their development in Brian Bannister.

Developing hitting is another story right now especially when you look at how the five hitting prospects the Sox have ranked among their top 10 overall prospects are performing.

Montgomery, the Sox' top prospect, is hitting home runs at Triple-A but also has a .218 average with a .718 OPS. Quero is now raking again at Double-A, but he had his struggles to start the season.

Bryan Ramos is hitting .250 with a .619 since going back to the minors and playing at Triple-A. Samuel Zavala is hitting .198 at High-A ball. Jacob Gonzalez is the only one who you can say is having a solid season even then, he has been rated as a high-floor, low-ceiling guy.

Oscar Colas and Lenyn Sosa failed badly in their early auditions. They are showing their career might be salvageable, but they might just be nothing more than bench players. The Sox seem to do a good job of churning out players more in the production mold of Danny Mendick. It is fine to produce a cheap bench, the Sox need foundation pieces that can produce hits and home runs at the big-league level.

In this deal, the Sox must walk away with at least two blue-chip prospects who become the foundation of the team eventually winning. Crochet can be that piece, so the Sox must multiply that type of foundation in a potential deal. They also need to win it considering the benefits they are possibly trading away in Crochet.

Also, some potential suitors might not have the hitters the Sox are craving. The Yankees, the Brewers, and the Orioles are really the only three teams that have been rumored among the potential suitors that could provide bats with the potential to be great.

The Orioles and Brewers have been hesitant to part with their talented young hitters. Those two teams understand that October is a crapshoot. They play the long game, build teams that can get to the Fall Classic, and go from there.

The Yankees have refused to trade their two top-hitting prospects. Now if the Orioles make a fair offer, then the Sox should jump on it since they have a record of developing hitting. That is the only exception Getz should make when it comes to trading Crochet.