Report: White Sox Test Extension With Garrett Crochet, Targeted for Deadline Trade

As the White Sox look to make a trade at the deadline, the team is reportedly open to discussing more about everyone on the roster, from short-term veterans to controllable young players. Garrett Crochet. However, the Sox also recently held talks with Crochet and his management at CAA Sports about a contract extension, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today. These talks were “brief” and the team “has no hope of reaching an agreement,” so Nightengale writes that the White Sox now plan to move Crochet at the deadline, although he is still subject to arbitration through the 2026 season. .

Crochet is on the mound against the Rockies today in his 18th start of the campaign. The southpaw has a 3.05 ERA over 94 1/3 innings, with a league-leading 130 strikeouts and 12.4 K/9, and a 34.9% strikeout rate that averages out to 98 percent of all pitchers. This ability to miss bats is paired with limited free passes, as Crochet's 5.4% walk rate is an important statistic given how he has struggled with control in his young career. Crochet's cutter and his 96.9mph fastball are both among the most dangerous pitches in the league, leaving hitters fooled unless they take advantage of his below-average slider.

This kind of production isn't exactly a surprise, because Crochet was the eleventh pick in the 2020 draft and was seen as a prospect who had developed enough to make his debut this season, pitching six innings in five appearances. Chicago continued to stretch him out to the majors in 2021 by using him as a bargain, and Crochet posted a 2.82 ERA over 54 1/3 innings out of the Sox bullpen. However, the injury concerns that surrounded Crochet for so long came in 2022, as Tommy John surgery cost him the rest of that season and limited him to 12 2/3 frames in 2023.

While it is rare to see mid-season extensions finalized, it is common practice for clubs to bring up the idea of ​​a long-term deal with potential trade candidates. After all, if a player has enough value to attract the attention of multiple contending teams, that player can provide value to his team, so there's no harm in a team seeing if there's a deal to be found on a multi-year contract. .

This concept extends to a team like the White Sox, who are closer to a full-blown fire sale than they are likely to be in the near future. Crochet just turned 25 this month, and has been so impressive in his first season as a starter that he looks like he could be a mainstay in the rotation. Even though the Sox may admit internally that it will take a few years to fully right the ship, Crochet is still young enough that it's possible to see him as the next ace of the White Sox club….as long as he isn't traded, of course.

Interestingly, Nightengale is floating the idea that a long-term contract could have an impact on Crochet's trade situation, as Crochet and his prospects may want to be extended with a new team immediately. Since Crochet has already thrown more innings (94 1/3) in 2024 than in his entire professional career combined (85 1/3 innings in the majors and minors from 2020-23), Nightengale suggested that Crochet he may want something more. financial security to mitigate additional risk if a new team asks him to pitch more innings in his arm during the regular season and possibly October.

As for how the White Sox themselves intend to handle Crochet, Nightengale writes that the club “and Crochet already have a solid plan to severely limit his career.” This explanation somewhat contradicts the arrangement Sox manager Pedro Grifol explained to the Associated Press and other reporters earlier this week. Grifol did not describe the situation as an actual innings limit, citing a hypothetical scenario in which Crochet could go a few innings at first with a low pitch rate.

“It's not something we're going to release and say here's what we're doing because there's nothing black and white in this game.…He's holding back a little bit later in the year so he can finish the season,” Grifol said. “We will not stop him badly and build him back to the level he was at at the beginning of the season. This is going down now. We have to really watch his workload.“

The team that acquires Crochet will have these same innings management issues in mind, adding another wrinkle to his trade market. Could a team that has a problem with rotation depth but has two or three stable top pitchers use Crochet as a starter to ensure they make the playoffs, then use Crochet as a (over-qualified) relief weapon in the postseason? Could the team be decent starters but not a clear-cut ace and perhaps include Crochet as part of a six-man rotation, to try to keep him fresh in the playoffs? Or, could a team that ran on the edge this season acquire Crochet and stick with Chicago's program, perhaps with an eye toward a full championship in 2025?

There is no shortage of interest in Crochet, as Nightengale reports that 15 teams have approached the White Sox front office about the lefty's services. The Sox have already rejected an offer from the Dodgers, who stand out as a logical suitor for several reasons – their winning mentality, their needs to rotate between several injuries to the starters, and a deep farm system that can meet Chicago's sky- high asking price.

According to some White Sox trading chips, Luis Robert Jr. continues to generate interest, but Nightengale feels the Sox may not have as much incentive to move an outfielder at the deadline. Robert missed nearly two months of the season with a hip flexor strain and has a slash line of just .206/.280/.486 over his first 118 plate appearances, though he has eight home runs. With these recent injuries and Robert's decent production in mind, the White Sox wouldn't be selling much if they dealt Robert on July 30, so the team could wait until the offseason to fully balance the offer (after Robert is out of the 2024 season by the way healthy and productive). Robert's contract comes with several club options that control his services until 2027, so the White Sox have some flexibility in waiting to see if an acceptable trade offer emerges.

The Sox are also “buying openly” Andrew Benintendi, writes Nightengale, which is not surprising. If Crochet and Robert are the top chips in Chicago, Benintendi represents the other end of the spectrum, as an expensive veteran struggling in his second straight seasons. Since Benintendi is owed $47.5MM through the 2025-27 seasons, the White Sox would have to eat all or nearly all of that remaining salary to facilitate a trade, or trade Benintendi for another unfair contract. Neither situation offers much benefit to the Sox, so Benintendi could remain one of the most unmovable players in the sport.