The Chicago White Sox has the best starting pitcher available on the trade market.
The San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers, and New York Yankees have all been reported to have made or been willing to make an offer for All-Star pitcher Garrett Crochet.
Add the Philadelphia Phillies to the list of teams possibly ready to make an offer for the White Sox ace.
That is what MLB Network insider Jon Morosi is putting out there.
The Phillies are looking at rotation upgrades. Garrett Crochet (White Sox) and Jack Flaherty (Tigers) are among the options they’ve discussed.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 23, 2024
The Phillies are hopeful that Taijuan Walker will return to their @MLB rotation in August. @MLBNetwork
The Phillies are an ideal trade partner for the Chicago White Sox when it comes to their needs and being willing to acquire Crochet.
The Phillies have five prospects in MLB Pipeline's top 100. Three of them are position players in infielder Aidan Miller, outfielder Justin Crawford, and shortstop Starlyn Caba.
Crawford is the Phillies' third-best prospect and is the one the Sox would probably love the most considering he is at Double-A while Miller and Caba are at A-Ball.
The Phillies are run by David Dombrowski who is not afraid to trade away prospects if it gets him closer to a World Series. Plus, the Phillies are win now mode, so they are probably not going to care that Crochet is on an innings limit the rest of the season.
That innings limit necessitated by this being Crochet's first season as a starter is what is making his market somewhat murky. Teams are reportedly concerned about giving a king's ransom for a pitcher who might be nothing more than a high-leverage reliever in September and October.
At the very least, he might not be able to make many starts down the stretch. The Phillies could view Crochet as late-inning weapon in high-leverage postseason situations capable of getting big outs and putting him over the top. They then can use him as starter for the two more seasons he is under club control.
Ideally, the Sox could trade Crochet to the Baltimore Orioles who have even better hitting prospects. The Phillies might be the next best thing in a potential deal for Crochet.