Why Garrett Crochet makes sense as a Red Sox trade target

The Red Sox need an ace, and owner John Henry has never loved spending on 30-year-old starters. That makes rising White Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet an obvious trade target, and it turns out there's some fire with that smoke.

According to Sean McAdam of MassLive, a source with knowledge of Chicago's discussions believes the Red Sox "are right in the thick of things" to acquire the young All-Star.

Crochet is the kind of arm modern front offices crave. He's big (6-foot-6, 245 pounds), young (25 years old), under team control through 2026, and has combined on-field success with eye-popping metrics.

He'll command a haul, but the Red Sox are as well-positioned as anyone to match up in a trade, since the White Sox seek a particular type of prospect that the Red Sox happen to feature in abundance.

Speaking to reporters at the GM meetings this week in San Antonio, White Sox GM Chris Getz laid out what Chicago expects to receive as it begins the sport's most daunting rebuild.

"We are focusing on position player return," Getz said, per McAdam. "That is our primary focus in any trade talks. The right players have to be there. We can't force anything. We certainly need to improve our offense. That is very clear."

So what would the Red Sox be getting? In a word, power.

Crochet is an old-fashioned horse who's not particularly interested in flummoxing you with a sweeper, although he's got a good one. He relies primarily on a four-seamer that averages 97 mph and was topping 100 mph again by August and September. He throws it at the top of the zone and dares you to hit it.

Few left-hand starters throw harder than Crochet. He adds a solid cutter as part of a five-pitch mix, and his expected stats are off the charts, if that's your cup of tea. One look at his Baseball Savant page shows the majority of his percentages buried in the red. He is, without question, one of the best young arms in baseball.

Were the White Sox a functional organization, Crochet wouldn't be going anywhere, because he's a success story. Chicago took the Chris Sale approach after drafting him 11th overall out of Tennessee in 2020, racing him straight to the big leagues during that pandemic-shortened season as a reliever, where more than half of his pitches topped 100 mph, including a memorable 11 in one inning against Cleveland.

The White Sox intended to transition Crochet to the rotation after a stellar 2021 in relief, but he underwent Tommy John surgery in April of 2022 and missed the entire season.

Crochet only went 6-12 last year, but that's pretty good considering he played for the worst team in history. The White Sox lost 121 games while averaging barely three runs a game. They went 9-23 in Crochet's 32 starts, but that number is misleading. He did not throw more than four innings in a start after June, because Chicago did not want to overextend him.

During the first three months, when he routinely pitched deep into games, the White Sox won seven of Crochet's 18 starts, including one in June against the Red Sox when he struck out 10 in six innings.

Overall, he posted a 3.58 ERA in 146 innings with 209 strikeouts. There will be a considerable market for his services, of course. The Dodgers (of course) and Orioles boast excellent farm systems and share the need for top-flight starters, but it's possible that neither possesses the kind of talent that Boston does in the upper minors.

Assuming that No. 1 overall prospect Roman Anthony is off the table, that still leaves shortstop Marcelo Mayer, catcher Kyle Teel, infielder Kristian Campbell, and a host of others. The Red Sox could also dangle first baseman Triston Casas or Gold Glove outfielder Wilyer Abreu off the big league roster.

The point is, they have options. And if they're serious about adding a starter via trade, Crochet should be at the top of their list.