Orioles Potential Trade Target Garrett Crochet Reportedly Dealt to Red Sox

The Baltimore Orioles have missed out on White Sox ace Garrett Crochet as he appears to be headed to the Boston Red Sox.

Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Potentially Baltimore Orioles trade target left-handed starting pitcher Garrett Crochet is being traded to the Boston Red Sox according to reports.

Crochet would have been an ideal fit for Baltimore as they look set to lose Corbin Burnes to free agency, but instead he winds up with a division rival.

The deal, which has not been finalized yet, is expected to include top talent from the Red Sox farm system. Though it stings to miss out, the Orioles by the end were not seen as a serious suitor for Crochet.

Crochet has only been a starting pitcher for one year, but it was stellar first season at the top of Chicago's rotation for the 25-year-old. Though he posted a record of 6-12, that is discounted by the fact that the White Sox were one of the worst teams in the history of baseball in 2024.

Making 32 starts, Crochet posted an ERA of 3.58 in 146 innings with 209 strikeouts, good for a ridiculous strikeout rate of over 35 percent and 12.9 K's per nine innings.

There is optimism that the young lefty is only going to get even better as he gains more experience as a starting pitcher, something that is bad news for a Baltimore team that is now going to have to face him for at least the next two seasons that he is under team control for.

This puts the Burnes situation in an interesting place as well. Boston was seen as a serious suitor for Burnes, and while they still could be, acquiring Crochet makes it less urgent for the Sox to hand over a massive contract to Burnes as well.

The Orioles still could keep Burnes, but they will have to fend off a fellow division rival in the Toronto Blue Jays as well as the San Francisco Giants who seem eager to spend.

Missing out on Crochet along with the fact that the top names in terms of free agent starting pitchers leaves Baltimore in a spot where they may have to look elsewhere if they can't keep Burnes.

One possible option is Miami Marlins lefty Jesús Luzardo, who similarly to Crochet is under team control for the next two years. Baltimore tried to make a move for Luzardo last winter, but the price was too steep coming off the best season of his career.

After Luzardo made just 12 starts in 2024 however and was shut down for the year in June, it's likely that he would be more attainable.

With Crochet heading to Boston and Max Fried headed to the Yankees, Baltimore should have more urgency to acquire a starting pitcher in order to keep up whether it be from free agency or the trade market.