(Audacy) White Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet is shaping up to be the top prize of the pitching market at the trade deadline, so naturally, the Dodgers appear to be hot on his trail.
The MLB-worst White Sox long have been sure sellers, and Crochet and center fielder Luis Robert Jr. represent the two trade chips they hold that could bring a monster haul in return. Although it seems like the potential of a Robert trade happening is a coin flip, Crochet getting moved looks more likely.
Everybody wants pitching at the deadline, and the 25-year-old Crochet can address just about any need. In his first season as a starter in MLB, he has been dominant in posting a 3.02 ERA and 0.95 WHIP while striking out 12.6 batters per nine innings. Crochet could also be used in any type of relief role for a team that acquires him. Crochet's 107 1/3 innings in 2024 are, already, far and away the most in any single season for him in his college or professional career.
Because an innings limit – formal or otherwise – seems plausible for any team that potentially lands Crochet, Audacy MLB insider Jon Heyman believes the Dodgers’ way of managing pitchers makes them a better fit than a team like the Yankees, as he told the Mully & Haugh Show on 670 The Score on Monday morning.
“If those are my two choices, I’m going with the Dodgers,” Heyman said. “He fits them because – I saw him at the All-Star Game, and he said he’s not sure there’s such a thing as an innings limit and it’s worthwhile. But I think his agents believe in it, and I think the team, whoever acquires him, is going to have to adhere to an innings limit. The Dodgers like those part-time pitchers, right? Everybody on their staff is a part-time pitcher.
“Last year (Clayton) Kershaw led with 120 innings for the team that won 100 games. They don’t mind that. They’ve got now Kershaw coming back, they hope (Yoshinobu) Yamamoto is coming back, certainly they’ll hope (Walker) Buehler’s coming back. They’ve always got guys coming and going, they can bring him in and limit his innings and then let him loose in October. To me, the Dodgers, who are aggressive at the deadline frequently … they’re the team that makes sense.”
The White Sox already have moved one top pitcher this season, sending right-hander Dylan Cease to the San Diego Padres in March. The Yankees were in on Cease much like they are Crochet, but Heyman indicated they appear to be equally reticent to include touted outfield prospect Spencer Jones in the talks for Crochet as they were Cease.