Boston overpays to add Garrett Crochet

Boston’s front office was determined to make a splash of some kind this offseason. There was clear pressure to do so, likely both internally within the organization and externally from a fanbase eager to see their beloved Red Sox be more aggressive.

For the last few weeks, what exactly that meant has been unclear. Boston has been linked to numerous free agent options and there has been a significant amount of trade talk coming from the team’s beat writers.

Things all came to a head on Wednesday, when details of a trade between the Red Sox and Chicago White Sox first began to leak. Boston would get their man, acquiring starting pitcher Garrett Crochet. Chicago would receive four prospects in return: catcher Kyle Teel, outfielder Braden Montgomery, infielder Chase Meidroth, and pitcher Wikelman Gonzalez.

Crochet has, somewhat remarkably, been the most frequent pitcher named in trade rumors (for all teams, not just tied to Boston) since last summer’s trade deadline.

Much of the appeal is cost — especially considering what the free agent market for starting pitching has yielded. Crochet is projected to earn $3 million in 2025. He will then be arbitration-eligible for 2026. Crochet posted a 3.58 ERA last season across 146 IP, too few to qualify for league leaderboards. That mark would have put Crochet 27th in all of baseball, just a few places ahead of fellow free agent Nathan Eovaldi who signed a three-year, $75 million deal to return to the Rangers. There is big value in Crochet’s likely cost over that same stretch.

Crochet’s workload and inexperience are reasons for pause though. The left-hander had only thrown a combined total of 73 innings in his career before the 2024 season, working primarily as a reliever, before the White Sox elected to put him in their rotation this past season.

While the results were sound — a 1.1068 WHIP, 209 strikeouts and just 33 walks, a 12.9 K/9 rate, and an All-Star appearance — Crochet showed signs of burnout as the season passed. Chicago limited his innings to a point, but he didn’t throw more than 77 pitches in a game after July 6.

Chicago used the 11th overall pick in the 2020 Draft to select Crochet out of the University of Tennessee. He’d debut in the White Sox bullpen later that year and instantly looked like a real weapon for Chicago through 2021. Tommy John surgery would force Crochet to miss all of the 2022 season and most of 2023 though, further adding to some of the universal surprise when the team moved him to the rotation last year.

Chicago’s return is, simply put, a strong one. All four players ranked highly in Boston’s system per MLB Pipeline (Teel 4th, Montgomery 5th, Meidroth 11th, and Gonzalez 14th). Teel (25th) and Montgomery (54th) also rank on their Top 100 prospect list.

Teel is the big prize here. Boston selected the 22-year-old out of the University of Virginia with the 14th overall pick in the 2023 Draft. The New Jersey native has done nothing but hit and get on base since starting his pro career. Through 619 plate appearances (138 games) over the last two seasons — including 123 at Triple-A — he is a .301/.404/.444 hitter with 29 doubles, 15 homers, 100 RBI, and 103 runs scored.

While the bat is Teel’s main draw, he has generally impressed behind the plate as well showing good arm strength and athleticism. Teel was thought of so highly he was included among the club’s “Big Four” prospects alongside Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, and Kristian Campbell.

Montgomery was Boston’s selection in this past summer’s draft, going 12th overall out of Texas A&M. The outfielder was viewed as a candidate to go even higher in the draft before breaking his ankle during the lead-up to the College World Series. Montgomery played centerfield for the Aggies before the injury but long term he will likely end up in one of the outfield corners.

Power is the key to his offensive game. Montgomery hit 35 homers over his first two collegiate seasons with Stanford, before adding 27 more this past season after transferring to A&M.

Meidroth was a 4th round pick in the 2022 Draft who can play all around the infield. He hit .293/.437/.401 this past season with Triple-A Worcester, walking well more than he struck out, and holds a .425 on-base percentage over his three-year career.

Gonzalez was signed as an international amateur in 2018 out of Venezuela. He’s pitched 392.1 innings since, posting a 3.97 ERA while striking out 11.3 per nine innings. Gonzalez has yet to pitch above Double-A and there are questions about his control, but Boston placed him on the 40-man roster after the 2024 season to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft. Some think he could be a mid-rotation starter if that develops, otherwise his stuff might profile better in the bullpen.

The trade completes Boston’s effort to appease a fanbase and bolsters a starting rotation that should be an asset for Alex Cora. Crochet will join a rotation featuring Lucas Giolito, Kutter Crawford, Brayan Bello, and Tanner Houck.

The trade also creates a hole on the Boston roster though. Connor Wong is the only catcher on the club’s 40-man roster. Danny Jansen departed via free agency and now the organization has moved Teel. None of the remaining catcher options on the free agent market look all that appealing (or are likely fits). The Red Sox will need to get creative here.

Crochet is a fine pitcher but the decision to move him to the rotation is still suspect and considering the injury history I’m not convinced he can continue putting up the workload required to lead a rotation. Craig Breslow paid a high cost to bring him to Boston.