Philadelphia Phillies Listed Among Trade Fits for Chicago White Sox All-Star

In need of some pitching help, the Philadelphia Phillies have been listed as a trade fit for an All-Star.

Aug 9, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Garrett Crochet (45) delivers a pitch against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning at Guaranteed Rate Field. / Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

One of the areas that the Philadelphia Phillies are looking to shore up this offseason is their starting pitching staff.

At first glance, that doesn’t seem to be the most pressing need.

Atop the rotation is Cy Young candidate Zack Wheeler and steady veteran Aaron Nola. Cristopher Sanchez and Ranger Suarez were both All-Stars in 2024.

But, the No. 5 spot was a black hole.

Taijuan Walker did not get the job done last season, and they will be looking to upgrade this offseason. An in-house replacement could be top prospect Andrew Painter, who has looked incredible at the Arizona Fall League after missing the 2023 and 2024 campaigns because of injury.

Another path could be the trade market, where the most popular name is Chicago White Sox star Garrett Crochet.

The talented lefty was mentioned in a ton of rumors ahead of the deadline, but general manager Chris Getz opted to hold onto him.

It was a risk, but one that looks like it will pay off.

Crochet’s performance didn’t dip at all, as he proved some of the doubters wrong who weren’t sure he could handle a starter’s workload for an entire campaign. On top of that, more teams should be in the market this winter compared to around the deadline.

The high asking price in July likely won’t be coming down, since the White Sox need a lot of help, but the Phillies were one of the teams linked to him a few months ago and will be once again this offseason as talks have reportedly already been had.

ESPN insider Buster Olney has listed Philadelphia as one of the best trade fits for Crochet.

“Besides augmenting the Phillies in the immediate future, Crochet -- who is 25 years old -- could be part of a bridge into the future for what is generally an older team. And with the White Sox in rebuild mode and their payroll on the way down, it's possible that a Crochet-Phillies deal could provide some kind of financial offload for the Phillies. Getz spoke with Philadelphia at the GM meetings.”

This is purely speculation, but could Dave Dombrowski use this as a chance to not only add an impact arm but slash payroll to become legitimate players in the Juan Soto sweepstakes?

The Phillies are regarded as a threat to steal him away from the New York Yankees, but their payroll is already very high.

Should they move some salary off the books, they become a more realistic landing spot.

Landing Crochet would help Philadelphia maintain their standing among the contenders in the National League, and adding Soto as well would probably make them the favorites.