Cody Snavely
According to various sources, the Los Angeles Dodgers are in the market for more starting pitching, and one name that has reemerged in trade rumors is Chicago White Sox left-handed pitcher Garrett Crochet.
During the 2024 regular season, the Dodgers showed high interest in the 25-year-old lefty prior to the July 30th Major League Baseball Trade Deadline. However, after a trade failed to gain any traction between the Los Angeles and Southside, the team pivoted to another American League Central pitcher in righty Jack Flaherty from the Detroit Tigers.
However, with the offseason back in full swing, the White Sox, amid a potential long rebuild, are hoping to shop Crochet, and once again, the Los Angeles Dodgers are rumored to be heavily interested.
The Dodgers’ idea of acquiring Crochet does make sense. The Dodgers, who have multiple starters on the injured list or potentially on an innings limit due to past injuries, need another arm to complete their potential six-man rotation.
Another plus to the idea of acquiring Chrochet is that he’s a lefty, which the Dodgers currently do not have on their roster, with all of their projected arms in the starting rotation being right-handers.
However, despite the basic needs of the Dodgers, a trade for Garrett Crochet should be at the bottom of the barrel in terms of offseason moves.
Inconsistent Track Record
To say Garrett Crochet had a traditional upbringing in Major League Baseball would be mendacious.
Before being drafted in the first round of the 2020 Major League Player Draft, Crochet was pitching in the Tennessee Vols College Baseball program.
In his collegiate career, the lefty was mainly a relief option with an occasional start here and there. Crochet’s overall numbers reflected that as the lefty went 10-9 in thirty-six games (thirteen starts) with a 4.64 ERA and a 1.402 WHIP.
However, like everywhere else in the country, Crochet’s junior season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this, the Chicago White Sox selected the lefty with the eleventh pick in the 2020 draft, and on September 18th of that year, Crochet would be the first of his class to make his Major League debut.
The White Sox went with an unconventional route with Crochet, as the lefty only collected 12.1 innings in the minors with a 4.38 ERA to boot.
With the White Sox starting rotation, including the likes of veteran Lance Lynn and young right-handed flame throwers Dylan Cease and Michael Kopech, Crochet had no spot in the rotation and would remain in the bullpen.
However, in April 2022, the lefty’s season ended due to a UCL injury requiring Tommy John Surgery, which he would not fully recover from until the end of the 2023 season.
The White Sox, who had made the postseason in consecutive years (2020,2021), would take multiple step-backs in the 2022 season, and at the 2023 trade deadline, they would begin another rebuild, trading away numerous assets.
That offseason, the White Sox also made a late trade, moving righty Dyland Cease to the San Diego Padres, opening the door for Crochet to get a spot in the starting rotation, and the club announced him as the Opening Day starter.
The 2024 season would be the first year that Crochet got the opportunity to start, and he would take advantage of that opportunity, pitching to the best season of his career thus far.
In thirty-two starts, Crochet set a career-high in innings pitched (146.0) along with 209 strikeouts, thirty-three walks, a 3.58 ERA, 2.69 FIP, and a decent 1.068 WHIP.
Crochet was also recognized for his performance with the MLB Pitcher of the Month Award in June after going 1-1 with a 1.91 ERA in 37.2 innings pitched, along with earning a nod to the 2024 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, the first of his career.
The advanced metrics also liked Crochet this season as the lefty ranked in the 98th percentile in Fastball Run Value, 93rd in Chase Percentage (33.5), 93rd in Whiff Percentage (33.1), and 98th in Strikeouts Percentage (35.1).
However, like his career, his 2024 season was a tale of two halves. During the first half of the regular season, Crochet was among baseball’s best pitchers.
The southpaw went 6-6 with a 3.02 ERA, 0.950 WHIP, 12.6 K/9 in 107.1 innings pitched and was a leader in the American League Cy Young race. However, the second half was trouble for Crochet.
After the all-star break, Crochet’s stats ballooned. He pitched to a 5.12 ERA, 1.397 WHIP, and a 0-and-6 record for a Chicago White Sox team that set the record for the most losses in a regular season in modern baseball history (121).
Despite the lousy half, Crochet still showed his ability to dominate hitters, increasing his K/9 to 13.75 and Strikeout percentage to 33.9. He also had a 3.58 FIP and a 2.22 xFIP, which shows how bad the White Sox were behind him.
Still, the steep decline is concerning for any team that looks to trade for Crochet. With the lefty having no previous history to go on and the White Sox’s steep asking price, a trade may be more challenging to finalize, just like the last trade deadline.
Last Deadline’s Debacle
It was no secret that the Chicago White Sox, led by new General Manager Chris Getz, wanted to trade away their biggest trade chip, left-handed pitcher Garret Crochet.
All season up until the trade deadline, talk around the league was what team would pony up at the deadline to bring in one of the best pitchers in the American League. However, as the deadline approached, Crochet became the talk of baseball for all the wrong reasons.
Prior to the deadline, Crochet and his camp stated that if the lefty were traded for him to pitch in the postseason, he’d need a guaranteed contract extension as he was already set to blow past his career-high innings total and wanted security in case anything happened health-wise.
Another red flag in Crochet’s comments was his reluctance to move back to the bullpen, which is an area many teams, including the Dodgers, had floated around to combat his innings.
Due to these comments, the Crochet market tanked as many teams pivoted to other players on the trade market. The Dodgers, who were heavily invested in Crochet, opted to go to the Detroit Tigers and trade for right-handed pitcher Jack Flaherty. The Baltimore Orioles, another team deep in the Crochet trade talks, turned to the Tampa Bay Rays and acquired veteran pitcher Zach Eflin.
After all the buzz surrounding the White Sox and Crochet all summer, the lefty stayed put. When asked if he regretted his comments, Crochet stated no.
Anyone can understand where I’m coming from in that regard; I think it may have come across as greedy to some, but those in the industry realize that it’s logical to have that line of thinking.
Another obstacle in the Dodgers’ attempted trade for Crochet at the last deadline was that the White Sox wanted top catching prospect Dalton Rushing, whom Andrew Friedman and Brandon Gomes were hesitant to let go.
Even if we fast-forward to today, it’s hard to imagine the White Sox and Getz would change their asking price since Crochet is still under team-friendly control until the 2027 season.
Other Options
My thought process on how the Dodgers should tackle the offseason is spending money.
On the latest episode of the Bleed Los Podcast, I stated that the Dodgers, who are already on pace to be on the first threshold of the CBT ($241 million for 2025) they’ll lose a draft pick, and with them set to be exceeding that CBT for the next few years they need to hold on to minor league talent not trading it away.
The Dodgers, coming off a season in which they had a walking billboard in two-way international icon Shohei Ohtani and made an estimated $600 million in revenue, can spend all the money they want without repercussions.
Other options in the free agent market are left-handed pitchers Blake Snell and Max Fried, who have already been heavily linked to the Dodgers this offseason.
According to MLB insider Jon Morosi, the big fish Corbin Burnes has also been connected to the Dodgers. Still, with the righty likely eying a seven-plus year deal upwards of $200 million, the Dodgers could look a different route.
The Dodgers, in the case of free agency, can spend to add to their team without losing any depth in their system, and with Crochet’s inconsistent history, it would be an unwise decision to unload top prospects for him. Ultimately, it ain’t my money, so spend it, Andrew Friedman.
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