The Boston Red Sox made one big move during the recently completed Winter Meetings. They traded four prospects to the Chicago White Sox for starting pitcher Garrett Crochet. In many ways, it was a move the Red Sox had to make because Juan Soto had left the Yankees and signed with the Mets, and then the Yankees responded by signing Max Fried away from the Braves
The Red Sox had reportedly been in the market for both players, but when Mets owner Steve Cohen makes up his mind that he is going to make an aggressive move for a player, he is not going to miss. Cohen and the Mets signed Soto to a 15-year, $765 million contract.
The Red Sox organization has pledged to the team’s fans that it would get involved in seriously upgrading the organization this year, and trading for the fire-balling Crochet is the team’s first major move. Crochet was dominating at times for the White Sox, a major accomplishment because the South Siders set the modern-day Major League record for having the worst won-loss mark in Major League history.
Crochet made the All-Star team for the White Sox
While Crochet’s won-loss record was just 6-12, he had a 3.58 earned run average while making 32 starts for the White Sox and pitching 146.0 innings. He showed overpowering velocity at several points in the season, striking out 209 batters and demonstrating a fastball that simply got the best of some of the game’s best hitters.
He was the lone White Sox player to earn a spot on the American League All-Star team.
Crochet said he had some emotional feelings about leaving the White Sox because that was the team that had drafted him in 2020 and helped develop him into a starting Major League pitcher.
“There’s definitely a bittersweet feeling,” Crochet explained. “Feeling like the White Sox were the team that first believed in me. But I guess this game is such a business side of things that I’m just excited to be a Red Sox now.”
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The Red Sox traded catcher Kyle Teel (their No. 4 prospect), outfielder Braden Montgomery (No. 6), infielder Chase Meidroth (No. 8), and pitcher Wikelman Gonzalez (No. 23) for Crochet.
Teel may be the best of the prospects for the White Sox. He has excellent offensive tools and looks like he has a chance to be a key player for a decade or more. Montgomery has a superstar’s aura and personality and can do multiple things well on the field.
Meidroth does not offer power, but he excels at getting on base, while Gonzalez has a strong arm.
Steve Silverman has been covering the NFL for more than 35 years, and his writing has appeared in ESPN Magazine, Bleacher Report, CBS Sports, Pro Football Weekly, and Forbes.com. He has written 10 books, including “Who’s Better, Who’s Best in the NFL.”
