As we sit and watch Dylan Cease make his way to San Diego thanks to the trade this past Wednesday, we ponder many questions about the Chicago White Sox pitching staff. The news of Michael Kopech being demoted to the bullpen also shakes things up quite a bit. The White Sox will be sporting a new-look rotation in 2024.
There has been talk of letting Garrett Crochet into the starting rotation. He has a strong arm along with good tools and appears to be ready to take on the challenge. He has even stated that starting is something that he wants to do.
If a guy wants to start, he should get a chance. Especially for a team that’s devoid of strong starting pitching talent like the White Sox.
We haven’t seen much of Crochet over the last couple of seasons. He suffered an elbow injury which resulted in Tommy John surgery then had some shoulder issues that limited him in 2023. According to Baseball Reference, he has pitched in 72 games for the Sox and gathered an earned run average of 2.71 which isn’t that bad. Crochet’s WHIP is 1.329 and he has a total of 85 strikeouts.
If Crochet manages to stay healthy for a decent amount of time, there is no doubt that he could be a starter with the White Sox.
At this point, he’s likely one of the top pitchers on the team in terms of skill and ability. His mechanics are sound and he’s one of the more polished pitchers the Sox have.
You could almost bet that the Sox are thinking along these same lines. The thought of making him a starter has had to cross their minds. Some experts are predicting that Crochet will end up being a starter. It’s not even remotely crazy to think that he could start for the Sox.
The other end of this is that, if Crochet has a great season or at least a great start to it, he could be considered trade bait for another team. With the White Sox seemingly selling off so many of their pieces, it’s possible that Crochet could be gone if he shows some value to other teams. The White Sox are willing to do whatever it takes to build a winner and if that means getting rid of a good Crochet then that may just happen.
People will be anxious to see just what the White Sox do for their starting rotation this year. We are now just days away from the start of the major league season. The White Sox are gearing up to announce their starting rotation and if they were smart, they would include Crochet in that starting lineup. What can it hurt? Absolutely nothing. It can only serve to help what has now become a weakened starting rotation. It also might help the White Sox in the future.
The loss of Cease will have ripple effects that this organization will feel for quite some time. The White Sox can do no wrong by trying out players at certain spots and seeing how they do. It cannot, it will not hurt to give Crochet a shot as a starting pitcher in the Sox starting rotation.