White Sox starter Garrett Crochet may be the most coveted pitcher on the market heading into next week’s MLB trade deadline.
AP
Four days before the MLB trade deadline, this is the White Sox’s time to shine.
For a team threatening to set a record for most losses in a season, the Sox have a surprising number of tradable players.
And so far, the sell-off has gone reasonably well. Drew Thorpe is succeeding in the majors, as the key piece in the Dylan Cease trade. The Sox got a top-100 prospect, catcher Edgar Quero, from the Angels for Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez.
A couple draft picks, shortstop Colson Montgomery and left-hander Noah Schultz, are Top 20 prospects, according to MLB Pipeline. So in the midst of a terrible season, the pressure is on general manager Chris Getz to capitalize on a chance to brighten the future.
The Sox might have the most coveted pitcher (Garrett Crochet) and hitter (Luis Robert Jr.) on the market. There already has been talk of playoff-contending teams being wary of Crochet’s ability to pitch into the postseason, because his workload has soared in his first year as a starter. Crochet reportedly will tell teams he wants an extension at any new destination and will not pitch from the bullpen.
Robert has some flaws, such as a top-10 strikeout rate, but there aren’t many hitters with his track record available. Getz can afford to stay patient with both players. If a trade makes sense, do it. If not, wait for the winter meetings.
The real talent would be if Getz can land some helpful young players by dealing Paul DeJong, Tommy Pham, Eric Fedde, Chris Flexen or any of the flawed, lively arms in their bullpen.
Think of it this way: The final two months of the season won’t be much fun, the new anti-tanking rules have screwed up next year’s draft pick. The trade deadline is the White Sox’s World Series.
Speaking of weak offense
The Cubs will be tough to fix. They’ve got two significant problems — lack of a reliable offensive star, and limited flexibility with their current roster.
Solutions to these issues may not exist, but it would make sense for Jed Hoyer to at least attempt to move Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki or Cody Bellinger. Barriers may prevent this from happening.
Happ and Suzuki have full no-trade clauses and would have to agree to go anywhere. They are both signed for two more years (Happ is owed $38 million, Suzuki $36 million). So if either of those players would agree to a trade, in theory, there needs to be a team willing to take on an inconsistent hitter at a relatively high price. Like we said, that market may not exist.
Bellinger has player options for both ’25 and ’26, worth a total of $52.5 million. Any team interested in a trade won’t know if they’d have Bellinger for two months or two years. Toss in his regression at the plate this season and the fact he’s coming back from a broken finger, and his trade value is probably close to zero. But strange things happen sometimes.
A simpler option would be to trade Nico Hoerner and open a spot for a prospect like Matt Shaw or James Triantos. Is any team going to see Hoerner as a key piece to their World Series run? Good question, maybe not. Hoerner has also been one of the Cubs’ better hitters lately.
Another possibility is to move Christopher Morel, who probably has some trade value. But the Cubs would be selling low on a young, inexpensive player with a high ceiling. That’s a tough call.
Here’s another question that might cross Hoyer’s desk: Could the Cubs acquire a hitting star by trading a pitcher or two? The Cubs aren’t overflowing with starters right now because Ben Brown, Jordan Wicks, Hayden Wesneski and Cade Horton are all on the injured list. But pitchers like Jameson Taillon or Justin Steele would likely be in high demand.
The guess here is it would take a massive offer for the Cub to part with either starting pitcher, especially Steele. Kyle Hendricks also has veto power now that he’s a 10-year veteran, but he might be able to help a contender low on pitching.
The Cubs have made some good reliever trades at recent deadlines. Because they’re not planning to go full rebuild, it wouldn’t make sense for the Cubs to trade successful, controllable arms like Mark Leiter Jr., Julian Merryweather or Porter Hodge.
They’ll probably try to move Hector Neris, who has postseason experience from his Astros days. Neris has a team option for $9 million next season, which becomes a player option if he appears in 60 games this year. He’s at 38 now and the Cubs will make sure he stays below 60.
Sloan, Dorchies sign
Some updates on MLB Draft signings …
York High School pitcher Ryan Sloan officially signed with the Mariners for a $3 million bonus, well over slot for the No. 55 overall pick.
In contrast, the Cubs had the No. 54 selection and took College of Charleston first baseman Cole Mathis, who signed for slot value of $1.68 million. Quick note on Mathis, he posted a .667 slugging and 1.048 OPS last summer in the Cape Cod league, better numbers than overall No. 1 pick Travis Bazzana.
Cary-Grove RHP Ethan Dorchies, a 10th-round pick, signed with Brewers for $162,500 (slot $180,400). He was a UIC commit.
Neuqua Valley grad Nolan Clifford, a shortstop at Creighton, signed with the Rockies for $50,000. He was a 17th-round pick.