Cubs, Reds Among Teams Who Could Trade For Chicago White Sox Ace Garrett Crochet

Garrett Crochet has been on the trade block for months, and the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds could be on the verge of jumping into the race for the Chicago White Sox starting pitcher.

Apr 29, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Garrett Crochet (45) delivers a pitch against the Minnesota Twins during the first inning at Guaranteed Rate Field. / Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

The Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds are "among the viable candidates" to trade for Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Garrett Crochet, according to MLB Network's Jon Morosi.

The Cubs and Reds join a handful of teams that had already been tied to Crochet, including the Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies and Baltimore Orioles. Some experts expect the White Sox to trade Crochet before the end of the calendar year, so his market is sure to develop quickly.

Crochet, 25, is coming off his first season as a starter. He went 6-12 with a 3.58 ERA, 1.068 WHIP, 12.9 strikeouts per nine innings and 4.1 WAR in 32 appearances, making his first career All-Star appearance in the process.

. @MLB trade market update:

The Cubs and Reds are among the viable candidates to acquire White Sox ace Garrett Crochet.

Of note, the Cubs and White Sox have made 4 trades since 2017, beginning with the José Quintana deal. @MLBNetwork

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 4, 2024

As Fastball has broken down in recent weeks, both the Cubs and Reds appear to have full rotations on their hands thanks to a couple of recent moves. The Reds acquired starting pitcher Brady Singer from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for second baseman Jonathan India last month, while the Cubs signed veteran left-hander Matthew Boyd to a two-year deal on Monday.

Cincinnati is now working with Singer, Hunter Greene, Andrew Abbott, Nick Lodolo and Nick Martinez as its five top starters, plus top prospect Rhett Lowder.

Martinez, who is due $21.05 million after accepting his qualifying offer, could move to the bullpen, considering he has served as a valuable swingman in San Diego and Cincinnati over the past three seasons. Lowder may not open 2025 in the big leagues either, so a spot could be carved out for Crochet if the Reds are really looking to add him.

As for the Cubs, their rotation will be anchored by Justin Steele and Shota Imanaga. Then there's Boyd, Jameson Taillon and Javier Assad, plus a trio of young part-time starters in Jordan Wicks, Ben Brown and Hayden Wesneski.

Assad struggled down the stretch in 2024, though, and none of the former top prospects have shouldered any kind of serious load in the big leagues so far. If Chicago wants to move Assad back to the bullpen, but isn't comfortable trusting Wicks, Brown or Wesneski so soon, Crochet makes sense.

To acquire Crochet, the Cubs might have to deal away some combination of Wicks, Brown or Wesneski anyways.

It wouldn't be unheard of for the White Sox to complete a deal with their crosstown rival, as they have agreed to four trades in the last eight years. They have even traded a burgeoning young ace to the Cubs before, shipping out José Quintana in 2017.

Crochet is under team control for two more seasons. MLB Trade Rumors and Spotrac both project the southpaw to make $2.9 million in arbitration in 2025.

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