Baltimore Orioles ‘One Big Move’ Trade Idea Swaps Star Prospect for Ace

The Baltimore Orioles could have a productive offseason if they make a blockbuster trade for the coveted Chicago White Sox ace.

Sep 7, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Garrett Crochet (45) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. / Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images

The Baltimore Orioles hopes of bringing in a free agent ace are starting to look slim, based on reports, so they may need to resort to a trading away one of their top young stars.

So far, the Orioles have done a good job of keeping their best prospects on the team. The only significant player they have traded away as of late was Connor Norby at last season's deadline.

If the Orioles want to come away with one of the best pitchers available this offseason, they will have to change that mentality.

In coming up with one move that could make each team's offseason, ESPN's David Schoenfield suggested that Baltimore swap top prospect Coby Mayo for Chicago White Sox ace Garrett Crochet.

Crochet is the biggest name available on the trade market and could ignite a bidding war among teams desperate for a pitcher. Though the Orioles farm system has started to take a bit of a slide in rankings, that's because their prospects are starting to move to the Majors. Baltimore still has more that they can realistically offer to the White Sox.

Mayo is the No. 8 overall prospect in all of baseball and no other player above him will realistically be moved any time soon.

The soon-to-be 23-year-old made his first two stints on the MLB roster last season and the results were not great.

He posted just a .098/.196/.098 slash line over his first 17 games in the Majors. He failed to pick up any extra bases, even when he did manage to get a hit.

That might seem worrying, but has sort of become what to expect in Baltimore. Top prospects have made a habit of 'striking out' at the start of their big league careers.

Mayo was still excellent in the minor leagues last season and is still an exciting player. He posted a .293/.372/.592 slash line with 25 home runs and 73 RBI in just 93 games in the minors last year.

It would hurt to give him up, but starting pitching will be a much bigger need than another infielder next season.

The 25-year-old Crochet could also stick around for the forseeable future, if things go well and they extend him. So it would make the loss a bit easier to stomach.

Crochet took the league by storm last season in Chicago, his first year as a starting pitcher. He would have likely maintained his MLB lead in strikeouts, if the White Sox didn't drastically decrease his work load after the deadline.

Still, he put up a solid 3.58 ERA over 146 innings with 1.068 WHIP and 12.9 K/9. Crochet is as exciting as a young pitcher could get.