After the Phillies’ exit from the 2024 postseason, President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski said “Sometimes you have to trade good players to get good players” in his end-of-the-year press conference. Due to the timing of the press conference, he could not go into further detail. As time has passed this winter, we are getting a better idea of what that means.
According to a report by USA Today’s Bob Nightengale yesterday morning, the Philadelphia Phillies have discussed a trade to bring White Sox starter Garrett Crochet to Philadelphia and send Alec Bohm and prospect Justin Crawford to the Southside.
Garrett Crochet
Garrett Crochet, a left-handed pitcher from the University of Tennessee, was the 11th overall pick in the 2020 MLB draft. He made his Major League debut the same year on September 18th, becoming the first pick of his class to make his debut and the 22nd player to ever go straight to The Show. He has been a fantastic pitcher ever since. He has primarily been a reliever but was made a starter this season.
In his first year as a starting pitcher (32 games), he pitched 146 innings, struck out 209 batters (7th in MLB), had a 1.09 WHIP (second best in his career), and finished with a 3.58 ERA. He had the highest K/9 (12.88) and K% (35.1) of pitchers who threw 140+ innings this season. Opposing batters hit .221 against him this season, tied for 13th best in MLB.
These are all great numbers, and his next team, Phillies or otherwise, will be able to utilize his talents to win more games.
Reasons for fans to be concerned
At the trade deadline, it was reported that Garrett Crochet would not pitch in the postseason unless a contract extension was signed, and he was unwilling to move to the bullpen. While I don’t see this being an issue for the Phillies, being reluctant to pitch in the postseason without an extension or pitch in the bullpen is something to note for any team.
Should the Phillies strike a deal?
Garrett Crochet would be a welcomed addition to the starting rotation but it is deeper than just trading for his services.
You would send your all-star third baseman and your top outfield prospect in Alec Bohm and Justin Crawford. There isn’t a better option than Bohm in-house currently, so you’d have to shell out another massive contract after extending Crochet.
Alex Bregman, the option mentioned most, would be significantly more expensive. He will cost you your second and fifth-round draft picks plus $1 million in international bonus money on top of his desired $200M+ deal.
Another route they could go is signing Willy Adames, a player they’re reportedly interested in pursuing. Crochet would make the starting rotation that much more lethal, but the Phillies will have to get creative with the extension and signing of Bohm’s replacement.
Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
