I try to imagine the scene.
Garrett Crochet entering the Los Angeles Dodgers clubhouse, the clubhouse of Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, Shohei Ohtani and, uh, Clayton Kershaw.
“Guys, nice to meet you, I’m so happy to be here,” Crochet might say, before hinting at his expected workload for the rest of the season. “But sorry, I won’t be pitching in the playoffs.”
Can you imagine? Me neither.
I also can’t imagine Hook pulling the same stunt in the Baltimore Orioles’ locker room (“Hey, Corbin!”), the Philadelphia Phillies’ locker room (“Hey, Bryce!”), or any other team that might acquire him. Some players might root for him, knowing that he hasn’t made much money yet. But at the very least, it would be awkward.
That’s why it’s not over, can’t be over, and won’t be over before the trade deadline at 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday, assuming Crochet isn’t traded before then, which absolutely should be the case.
The market for Crochet remains active, according to sources familiar with the trade discussions. While some teams are hesitant to move forward because of his alleged refusal to pitch in the playoffs without a contract extension, other clubs continue to court him. The San Diego Padres and Dodgers, two teams in the race from the start, are believed to be among them.
Frankly, Hook’s position shouldn’t discourage anyone.
Crochet, 25, seems like a nice guy. He’s certainly a hell of a pitcher. But, hello? He’s had three solid months as a major league starting pitcher (April wasn’t as hot) and now he’s riding his newfound success like he’s an established ace and future Hall of Famer.
The Chicago White Sox should ignore him. The teams that are pursuing him should ignore him. And the day he gets traded, he should stand up in his press conference and say, “Everything went wrong. I’m going to work with my new team. My goal is to help us win a World Series.”
Crochet’s current plan — to stay a starter through the end of the season, play full-time and only play in October if he gets an extension — makes him look selfish and conceited. And if the plan is his own and not the work of his agency, CAA, well, his agency should have advised him against it.
CAA, however, used a similar tactic when Josh Hader was with the Milwaukee Brewers, advising him to impose limits on his workload until a team offered him a long-term contract. The Brewers elicited such a reaction by working Hader hard and then beating him in arbitration. They eventually traded him, but Hader ultimately got what he wanted, a five-year, $95 million free agent contract with the Houston Astros.
Some teams might worry that the CAA will take the same approach with Crochet, telling him, “Trust us. Stay strong. We’ll give you your money at the end.” And Crochet, if traded, could still cite some sort of physical ailment later in the season, which would thwart any plans to use him in the playoffs — and negate any interest in acquiring him at the deadline in the first place.
Like Hader — and any other player, for that matter — Crochet is right to be concerned about his health. He underwent Tommy John surgery in April 2022. This is his first season as a professional starter. He has already pitched 111 1/3 innings, and his previous career high was 65 in his sophomore year at Tennessee.
Let no one forget that the White Sox also created this mess.
In 2020, Crochet missed the first three weeks of his junior season at Tennessee with a slight sore shoulder. He ended up pitching just 3 1/3 innings; COVID ended his college campaign after four weeks. If not for his abbreviated work, he might have been a better pick than No. 11 overall, where the White Sox picked him up.
Fast forward to September, in the middle of the COVID-19-shortened major league season. A day after clinching their first playoff berth since 2008, the White Sox called up Crochet, who was working out at their alternate site. He became the first player to make his professional major league debut since Mike Leake in 2010, joining the team as a reliever and making the playoff roster.
The White Sox were so enamored with his performance that they kept him as a reliever in 2021. Crochet made 54 appearances, then injured his elbow the following spring. Given all that, it’s hard to blame him for wanting to take more control of his career.
No team can be trusted to protect a pitcher. No team has proven they can do it. But here’s the thing: A team that acquires Crochet will have a built-in incentive to keep him as healthy as possible. Because of the talent they gave up to get him. And because of his two extra years of control beyond this season.
Teams are so tight on cash and risk-averse that the idea of extending his contract to ensure Crochet plays in the playoffs is almost ridiculous. If Crochet keeps pitching every five days, as he wants to, he could be exhausted by October anyway.
The Dodgers, however, might be the only team willing to extend Crochet’s contract, if they believe he’s a top starter and if Crochet is willing to sign a relatively team-friendly deal. For a team that spent $1 billion last offseason, Crochet would be just another addition to its investment portfolio. But even the Dodgers, with all the uncertainty hanging over their rotation, would sacrifice major prospects for Crochet when his ability to help them win the World Series this season is in question?
This is all so complicated. A trade for Crochet was never going to be easy. The White Sox, who own a pitcher with a 1.87 ERA in his last 15 starts, naturally view him as a No. 1 starting pitcher. Interested clubs, knowing Crochet will hit some sort of innings limit, don’t see it that way, at least not for 2024.
So it would be easier to get a deal done in the offseason. Crochet will have one season as a starter under his command, a base of maybe 150 to 160 innings. The team that acquires him will inherit his two remaining years of arbitration, but at a relatively low number, his current salary of $800,000.
That might be the best outcome, for Crochet and for the White Sox as well. On the other hand, it would require Crochet to stay with his struggling team for the rest of the season, something no reasonably competitive person would want. Crochet is such a person. Otherwise, he would not have reached the highest level of his profession.
A team should report him. I can’t imagine Crochet walking into a clubhouse full of players fighting for a single goal, looking them each in the eye, and offering them some variation of the following:
“I’m good for the regular season. But you guys are just going to have to win the World Series without me.”
(Top photo by Garrett Crochet: Rich Storry/Getty Images)