The Chicago White Sox can do little to improve their fortunes this season. They have already clinched a losing record and are on pace to set an undesirable major league record.
They could have done more to improve their fortunes in 2025 and beyond by trading starting pitcher Garrett Crochet before Tuesday’s trade deadline.
Crochet, 25, is excelling in his first year as a starter, going 6-8 with a 3.19 ERA and an American League-leading 162 strikeouts in 118.1 innings. He’s also leading the AL in starts (23) and Fielding Independent Pitching (2.64) — a testament to his resolve amid a historically bad season.
So why didn’t the White Sox trade him?
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Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported Crochet preferred to remain a starter the remainder of this season, and would only pitch in the postseason if he could sign a contract extension first, in case he was traded.
When those preferences became public, White Sox general manager Chris Getz had strong words for his pitcher — a tacit acknowledgment that Crochet effectively sank his own trade value.
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Now, Crochet has addressed the elephant in the room.
Although he had a chance to shoot down the report prior to the deadline, Crochet declined. Wednesday, the day after the deadline, he used humor to deflect criticism.
“As baseball players, we have a little bit of notoriety, so if I wipe my [butt] the wrong way, I think someone would say something about it,” Crochet told the media, including the Chicago Sun-Times.
The Sun-Times quoted Getz as saying there was “strong interest” in Crochet even though he wasn’t traded. Perhaps after learning of his demands, the interest simply wasn’t strong enough for Getz to pull the trigger.
Getz said it was “tough to tell” if the demands affected interest, according to the Sun-Times.
Levity is going to be essential for the White Sox to endure the final two months of the season.
The White Sox enter Sunday’s game against Minnesota having lost 19 games in a row. They’re on pace to lose 123 games, a new single-season record for futility.
Crochet and starting pitcher Erick Fedde were the only two players on the team with more than 4 Wins Above Replacement this season. Now that Fedde has been traded to the St. Louis Cardinals, fans on the South Side of Chicago have little to look forward to on the days Crochet doesn’t pitch.
At least in the short term, keeping Crochet will benefit the Sox in that regard.
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