Garrett Crochet goes from Trade Bait to Possible Center Piece after saying he would be open to talking an Extension.
Chicago White Sox ace Garrett Crochet saw his name in trade rumors earlier this season as the team was a seller at the deadline. The White Sox didn’t trade Crochet, and instead decided to keep the ace for the rest of the season.
But what will they do behind this season? Crotchet is reportedly open to an extension this offseason.
The star pitcher indicated in a post-game scrum with the media and to Bruce Levine of 670 The Score that he is willing to sign an extension with the team.
“I would be receptive to conversations,” Crochet said. “Those conversations are not reliant on only myself and what I might want. I know that (GM Chris) Getz does everything with the team’s future in mind. So I think we can trust that to be true.”
These new reports come after Crochets’ earlier comments prior to the Trade Deadline where he indicated he would not pitch for a team vying for the playoffs without getting an extension. Since those comments were made, Crochet has remained with the team and has been the only shining light in the deep dark abyss of this miserable season. The White Sox are still expected to listen to teams interested in trading for Crochet, but with Crochet now signaling he is open to staying with the team long term maybe the light at the end of the tunnel is brighter than most thought.
Crochet who is 25 years old, has now four years in the show, three as a reliever and one coming as a full-time starter. For his career Garrett Crochet is 9-19 with a 3.29 era, 215 IP, 288 SO, a 1.153 WHIP, and an All-Star appearance which came this year in 2024.
In his first full season as a starter his record is: 6-12 a 3.58 era, 32 games/started, 146 IP, 33 BB, 209 K’s, and a 1.068 WHIP. Given that he is now two years removed from Tommy John surgery, these numbers are very respectable given the nature of the White Sox season as a whole and should be taken as a sign to retain this level of talent and build around him.
Solid and reliable starting pitching is hard to come by in the MLB these days, especially when it comes to the team developing it from with and the White Sox are lucky to have done just that. We have seen this season a handful of relievers make the transition to starter and have solid success; Ronaldo Lopez of the Braves comes to mind as one of those pitchers.
Is there a risk of Garrett Crochet “blowing out” again? Yes, but there’s always a risk of that happening with any player. When you have a talent like Crochet the thought of him getting hurt again should be thrown to the waist side. When using the “eye test” in examining Crochet I see similarities to Chris Sale if we’re going to compare to a former White Sox, but in totality Crochet is almost a spitting image of Sale. Electric high 90’s fastball, with up an coming breaking pitches which he will develop now that he’s starting full-time.
This 2024 season was a big step forward in the development of Garrett Crochet and the club should be excited for what’s to come. With two more years of club control already on the books Crochet wouldn’t become a Free Agent until he’s 27, which doesn’t happen often.
Yes, trading Crochet for a package of 3-4 prospects would be nice and increase the level of talent in the farm and possibly at the Major League level. However, Garrett Crochet has proven to be reliable now as both a starter and reliever and only seems to be trending upward.
Currently Crochet is making $800K for his salary and is not slated to be a FA until 2027. As stated prior the “eye test” tells me that Garrett Crochet could develop into a Chris Sale type of player, but according to his Baseball Savant they compared him (based on similar movement and velo) to a Mackenzie Gore and Tarik Skubal. That’s great company to be likened too, especially since Skubal is the front runner for the AL Cy Young Award.
With that being said, Garrett Crochet for starting pitchers is considered to be in the upper echelon for starting pitching for the whole league and when comparing him to other starter and what they make, I feel a good salary would be somewhere in the 20–25 million per year range.
When comparing that to the others in the league that would put him in the likes of Aaron Nola ($24.6M Phillies), Luis Castillo ($24.2M Mariners), Robbie Ray ($23M Giants), and Chris Bassitt ($22M Blue Jays). In that short list of players Garrett Crochet probably ranks behind Nola and Ray, but slightly above Castillo which would put him on the higher end of the spectrum with $25M per year.
To me, if I was the White Sox I would offer a 7-year/ $180M (2025-2032) which averages out to $25.7M, plus add a club option for an 8th year (at the same Average Annual Value) to total out at 8-years/205.7M. This would ultimately become the most expensive contract given out by the organization in its history, and vastly surpasses Andrew Benintendi’s 5-year/ $75M which was dished out back in 2023. This would buyout his arbitration years (age 25-26) and takes him to his age 33 season.
Ultimately, it’s now on the White Sox to decide whether it they want to trade Garrett Crochet or retain and build around him after he has now indicated his willingness on staying with the team and negotiating and extension. If they (the White Sox) want to win, then they need to spend money to increase their payroll, and that doesn’t just happen in Free Agency. Sometimes that comes from you spending it on players you already have, and Garrett Crochet is that guy that deserves that long-term investment!
2024 Chicago White Sox: The good, the bad and what’s next
Read MoreFor More Great Chicago Sports Content
Get the latest Chicago sports news, analysis, and breaking stories on the Bears, Bulls, Blackhawks, Cubs, White Sox, Sky, and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News, so you never miss a story on your favorite Chicago teams.
Follow us on Twitter at @chicitysports23 for more great content. We appreciate you taking time to read our articles. To interact more with our community and keep up to date on the latest in Chicago sports news, JOIN OUR FREE FACEBOOK GROUP by CLICKING HERE
1 Comment
Awesome article!!