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Chicago White Sox starter Garrett Crochet expressed his desire to remain with the team despite his recent involvement in trade rumors.
“It’s a huge compliment but at the end of the day, if I go out there and I have one bad outing, it could be completely derailed,” Crochet said on the White Sox Talk Podcast (h/t NBC Sports Chicago). “Regardless of that, or not, I love being with the team that drafted me. I think it’s everybody’s dream with the team that drafts them and the team they debut with to kinda transform their whole career there.”
Despite a rough start to the season from the White Sox, the 24-year-old’s strong play has been a silver lining. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported on Tuesday that the San Diego Padres are interested in Crochet.
Despite Chicago’s unsightly 16-48 record, the left-hander has emerged as one of the better pitchers in the American League with a deadly fastball. Through 13 starts, he’s compiled a 3.49 ERA while racking up 93 strikeouts compared to just 15 walks in 69.2 innings of work.
MLB @MLB
Garrett Crochet tied his career high with 11 strikeouts for the @WhiteSox. pic.twitter.com/QiwdQ2r2p0
It’s easy to see why contending teams are enticed by Crochet on the trade market given his age, production, and contract. He’s making just $800,000 in 2024, with two more arbitration-eligible years left on his deal (via Spotrac).
The Padres’ interest in particular is clear, as they’re desperately in need of some rotation help after Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove were both placed on the 15-day injured list due to groin and elbow injuries respectively.
While Crochet prefers to stay with the White Sox, he views the trade rumors as praise.
“It’s a huge compliment,” Crochet said, per NBC Sports Chicago. “To have your name mentioned in a trade, typically, I guess it’s 50-50, but typically it’s going to a team that’s buying and a team that’s competing at the deadline.”
Although he may want to remain in Chicago, the White Sox could decide to pull the trigger on a potential deal once the July 30 trade deadline gets closer.
