White Sox Budding Ace Could Be Trade Option; Cardinals Would Make Sense

St. Louis should consider trading for the young pitcher

Mar 28, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Garrett Crochet (45) delivers a pitch during the second inning of the Opening Day game against the Detroit Tigers at Guaranteed Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports / Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

The St. Louis Cardinals are in the middle of a crucial period of the season in which they must fight to stay alive as potential playoff contenders to avoid being sellers at the deadline.

With the recent wave of success from the offense, it's looking like the Cardinals might be able to buy this summer. If so, it's been rumored that St. Louis will hunt for starting pitching.

Even though the organization would prefer to add a veteran hurler to the rotation, there's a young pitcher who could potentially be a logical option for the Cardinals to pursue.

"For the (Chicago) White Sox to trade (Garrett) Crochet, according to a person familiar with that team’s thinking, they likely would require at least one position player prospect with significant upside," The Athletic's Dennis Lin and Ken Rosenthal wrote Tuesday.

Crochet has posted a 5-5 record with a 3.49 ERA, 93-to-15 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .194 batting average against and a 0.93 WHIP in 69 2/3 innings pitched for the White Sox in 2024.

In his first year as a Major League Baseball starter, Crochet leads the American League in strikeouts and is recording impressive numbers despite playing for the White Sox, who have one of the worst defenses in baseball.

The 24-year-old is under team control with Chicago through 2026. If the Cardinals hope to trade for the rising star pitcher, they'll likely have to give up at least one top prospect.

The Cardinals don't have a deep farm system but they do have a few sluggers who could be enticing for the White Sox -- such as Thomas Saggesse, Victor Scott II, or César Prieto.

Giving up one of the aforementioned names would be painful as all three prospects have shown great potential and might be seen as pieces of the organization's future. However, it might be worth it if St. Louis can get a young, talented, and controllable starting pitcher out of it.

The Cardinals are building for the future and need a youth movement in the rotation so trading for a rising star with multiple years of control would be wise.

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