Garrett Crochet Seeking Extension if Traded at Deadline

Aside from the slight possibility of the Tigers trading Tarik Skubal, the top starting pitcher likely to be dealt before next week’s trade deadline is Chicago White Sox starter Garrett Crochet.

Chicago is the clearest seller on the entire market, as they’re in the midst of the worst season in franchise history and will be looking to cash in on their assets at the deadline. They have a variety of players that will likely be moved, but the most precarious decisions to be made revolve around center fielder Luis Robert Jr. and the left-hander Crochet.

Crochet is in his first year as a starting pitcher and has thrown 111.1 innings this season despite just a total of 73 innings in his MLB career prior to 2024. His dominance on the mound cannot be understated, but durability concerns certainly shift the market for a player of his caliber.

It’s beginning to seem like Robert will be moved in the offseason rather than now due to his injury earlier in the year and a limited market for the kind of outfielder that would require such a haul of prospects.

Crochet still appears more likely than not to be on the move. However, his market just got a bit more complicated with a much-anticipated report on the plan for his usage.

According to a couple of reports from Jon Heyman and The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney, Ken Rosenthal, and Will Sammon, Crochet wants to be starting games for the rest of the season as it has helped maintain his health so far.

From hearing Crochet discuss his routine in Arizona this spring, I believe that he much prefers the starter routine and this seems to confirm that.

The complicated wrinkle in this is the fact that Crochet would still prefer to limit his innings to safeguard his future. That means he wants an extension to keep pitching into the postseason. While this may seem drastic to some fans hoping their team will deal for Crochet, it makes sense for him to protect himself during a huge breakout season.

Already well past his previous career-high in innings, Crochet will need to be careful down the stretch. That does not mean he’s not willing to pitch come October, but he wants security.

There are not many teams with the assets and risk tolerance to trade for Crochet in the first place, but those teams might be comfortable with an extension regardless.

With this new complication, and the already-present risks for any team trying to acquire Crochet, it feels like the teams in the running are limited. I wrote up these five trade packages for Crochet just a few weeks ago, but only three of these teams still feel truly realistic.

The Orioles, Dodgers, and Phillies seem to me like the three teams capable of making this move from a farm system standpoint while also being able to extend Crochet to ensure he can make an impact in October.

While I believe some other teams like the Brewers, Cardinals, and Astros will be interested, I can’t see them confident enough in their contention chances to justify dealing their top prospects and handing out a substantial extension.

This stipulation laid out by Crochet and his representatives may seem like a hold-up, but I’m really not sure it significantly changes which teams are heavily pursuing him. Those three elite contenders seemed like the clear top candidates a month ago, and that really hasn’t changed yet.

Trading for Crochet will be exceedingly complex, and he may just end up as an offseason trade candidate. Still, there’s a path to a deal with some top-tier contenders.

The Orioles can start a package with Samuel Basallo or a variety of their second-tier assets and extend Crochet for much cheaper than the kind of contract Corbin Burnes will require this offseason.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers can move young prospects such as Josue De Paula and others to solidify their rotation without altering their current roster. The Phillies have a trio of young hitters in Aidan Miller, Justin Crawford, and Starlyn Caba who would all be of interest to a hitting-needy White Sox organization.

Crochet’s desire for an extension does shift his market to a degree, but it may not be to the degree some thought upon seeing that report. From Crochet’s perspective, this makes plenty of sense; it may result in a new team and a new contract, but it could also keep him in Chicago for a few more months before he is traded more easily this winter.