Interesting Caveat to Garrett Crochet Rumors
The Cubs and the White Sox are a solid match if Jed Hoyer really wants to acquire Garrett Crochet. Hoyer has an overabundance of tradeable assets, including heavy redundancy in the outfield and middle infield. Sox GM Chris Getz wants to improve his offense and thinks a deal is there if Hoyer is willing to work with him. Getz also said he’s willing to wait for the market to come to him, which is an interesting caveat. Let me explain.
GM Chris Getz on Cubs and Sox working out a Crochet for hitting prospects trade . “ if there is a match ,there is one. If that means us knocking on ther door ,so be it’
— Bruce Levine (@MLBBruceLevine) December 10, 2024
There are at least a dozen teams interested in Crochet, so even though mentioning the Cubs does little to expedite a deal, it might persuade other teams to up their offers. Getz waited until mid-March to trade Dylan Cease last year, getting Samuel Zavala, Jairo Iriarte, Drew Thorpe, and Steven Wilson from the Padres. Iriarte is ranked No. 5 in a weak White Sox farm system and Zavala is 16th. Cease had two years of team control, as does Crochet. The market for Cease was equally robust last year. The difference? Crochet is two years younger.
The White Sox would also like to move Luis Robert Jr., so they need outfield help. Getz and outfielder Mike Tauchman agreed on a one-year contract yesterday, but the beloved ex-Cub will probably be playing elsewhere by August. Chicago’s South Side Baseballers are overhauling everything, and Hoyer can help with prospects or a combination of prospects and veterans. I’ve heard Getz likes Alexander Canario but loves Pete Crow-Armstrong. Michael Busch could be a person of interest, and so could Cam Smith.
Hoyer will probably be overprotective of Matt Shaw and Owen Caissie, and rightfully so. Cade Horton is injured, so Getz would probably pass on the young righty, but he could be intrigued by Jaxon Wiggins or Brandon Birdsell. James Triantos, Kevin Alcántara, Moises Ballesteros, Miguel Amaya, Jefferson Rojas, and Fernando Cruz are other options.
That’s a lot of firepower despite the objections of CHGO White Sox analyst Sean Anderson, who didn’t hide his disdain for any of Hoyer’s prospects last week.
“There’s no one I really covet from the Cubs,” Anderson told the CHGO Cubs podcast. “Jon Morosi’s just doing somebody a favor. I mean, the Cubs are not doing this. I will tell all three of you right now: The Cubs are not getting Garrett Crochet. They just spent $14.5 million on Matthew Boyd. They’re tied up, [and they’ve] got five starting pitchers.”
Anderson is probably a bright person, but he is expecting a little too much in a potential Crochet trade. Getz might also be guilty of a similar mindset. The package he got for Cease seems incredibly underwhelming. Crochet was a reliever until last season and jumped from 12.1 innings pitched in 2023 due to a shoulder injury to 146 last season. He did not pitch at all in 2022 after having Tommy John surgery. Do you remember all the pitching injuries last season? A heavy increase in workload by a pitcher who throws as hard as Crochet does scares the bejeezus out of me.
Hoyer wants to add a starter, but his interest in Crochet might be nothing more than helping to drive up his value. The Reds and Brewers, as well as the Yankees, Mets, Phillies, Orioles, Dodgers, and Red Sox, are interested. The Cubs could easily pivot to Max Fried, Jack Flaherty, or Walker Buehler, and they’d have an open lane while the others duke it out for Crochet. I’d rather Hoyer err on the side of caution when it comes to dealing his young players in this particular instance. By the way, Getz is hurting Crochet’s market by holding out too long. He should be jumping the market, and his inexperience may be getting the best of him. Those red flags will get a lot brighter as the pitching market sorts itself out.
The Cubs should continue to exercise patience. In the meantime, Hoyer should pursue Rōki Sasaki and meet with the agents of some of the other available pitchers. Crochet’s list of suitors will diminish substantially if the young lefty is still available when pitchers and catchers report. A deal similar to the Cease trade might look more like Canario, Cruz, Jack Neely, and Christian Franklin. That might not satisfy Anderson, but he doesn’t like any of the Cubs prospects anyway. Pass on the 25-year-old if another team outbids the Cubs.
At the end of the day, I’d take Cease over Crochet 10 out of 10 times. Any package for Crochet that exceeds what San Diego gave the White Sox for Cease seems like an overpay to me. I might do a doubletake if Getz included Robert, but the Cubs don’t need another expensive outfielder.