NEWSLETTER
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This morning, Bruce Levine hopped on 670 The Score to share a handful of rumors as we approach Juan Soto’s final decision (this weekend?) and the start of the Winter Meetings. Among the more notable bits, Levine reports that the White Sox are receiving interest on Garrett Crochet from as many as ten teams, which, as we have recently learned, likely includes the Chicago Cubs.
And, hey, why not? Crochet, 25, is a hard-throwing stud of a pitcher coming off a 32-start season in which he struck out 35.1% of the batters he faced while walking only 5.5%. He’s awesome.
Garrett Crochet Asking Price
But before you go packing the bags of your favorite prospects and penciling Crochet into the Cubs’ rotation, take note of the reported asking price coming out of the South Side: “You’re gonna give up three of your top players in your minor league system…(For the Cubs, that’s…) Shaw, Caissie, Triantos … the White Sox are going to want three really good young players” in return.
Worth it or not, I have an extremely hard time imagining the Cubs trading Matt Shaw at all right now, let alone alongside Owen Caissie and James Triantos. Not only do I think they just really, really like Shaw, but he’s also arguably their Opening Day starting second baseman as of today.
Even if the Cubs don’t trade Nico Hoerner — and I do believe they are trying hard to do just that — Hoerner won’t be ready for Opening Day. Now, to be sure, a few weeks of coverage at second base is not a good reason not to target someone like Garrett Crochet (that is if you’re keeping Hoerner), but that’s really just the bonus point. The bottom line is that Matt Shaw seems like a guy the Cubs are very intent on keeping for a long time. I just don’t think he’s going anywhere.
As for the asking price *in general*, I don’t think it’s out of the question as an opener, even if it is objectively a lot. These days, three top prospects for two years of control over a 25-year-old starter is just the price of poker. And to be even more clear: I already think the Cubs’ other top-100 prospects (Owen Caissie, James Triantos, Kevin Alcantara, Cam Smith, Moises Ballesteros) can, are, and should be on the table for an impact starter, like Garrett Crochet, this offseason. I’m mostly just excluding Matt Shaw on the belief that the Cubs are enamored.
With all of that said, I do think it’s at least fair to point out the flaws of Garrett Crochet.
For one, he has exactly ONE season as a big league starter (2024). It was a very, VERY good season. Elite, even. But it was one season. And in that one season, he did not throw more than 4.0 innings in a single start in July, August, or September. White Sox fans eager for a big trade package will hand-wave that away as merely an effort at load management. And maybe that’s true, but that was only necessary because it was his first full season as a starter and because he’s a guy who’s already undergone Tommy John surgery. That’s important context.
For another, two years of control is better than one, but it’s also not a normal amount of control for a 25-year-old. And that’s important to remember. This is not a guy you’re getting for cheap for 5 more years or whatever. It’s two years at arb prices and then he’s a free agent. OR you extend him for what will likely be a very big deal (he was eager for an extension at the trade deadline, and undoubtedly expects to get PAID). Again, he’s very much likely to be worth it, but this is all part of the calculus.
But I don’t want to go overboard or get too reactive to the White Sox fans I see on X. Garrett Crochet is legitimately awesome and any team would be thrilled to have him, including the Cubs. Full stop. If Jed Hoyer can find a way to get him, even dealing as many as three of their top prospects, I think that would have to be very seriously considered.
Remember, though, he’s not the only attractive young starter out there. There are other teams, like the Mariners, with young pitchers that are maybe less impactful, but younger and controlled for longer. And you can spend a certain prospect as trade capital only once.
On top of that, the Cubs rotation already has a solid top-four: Justin Steele, Shota Imanaga, Jameson Taillon, and Matthew Boyd, with plenty of depth behind them: Javier Assad, Jordan Wicks, Ben Brown, Cade Horton, Brandon Birdsell, Hayden Wesneski, etc. They can absolutely use a guy at the top, especially someone who throws hard (and I still think they’ll pursue someone like that this winter). But it isn’t like they have multiple spots to fill/an enormous need. Jed Hoyer can afford to be more patient than dealing Matt Shaw and two other top-75 prospects.
And finally, for what it’s worth, Bruce Levine did not seem to believe a Garrett Crochet trade was imminent. Although he thinks the White Sox will trade him this winter, he thinks they could wait until later in the offseason to make a deal. And logically, that tracks. If I were the White Sox, I’d let Corbin Burnes and Max Fried sign, before getting more serious on Crochet to the teams who went big, but came up short.
