Insider Says Rising Superstar 'Would Fit Quite Nicely' With Yankees at Deadline
![Feb 15, 2024; Tampa, FL, USA; New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman talks with media at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports Feb 15, 2024; Tampa, FL, USA; New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman talks with media at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_3872,h_2178,x_0,y_352/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/inside_the_pinstripes/01j2vwdm1hmsca81w8yy.jpg)
It's no secret that the New York Yankees are hunting for pitching help ahead of the July 30 trade deadline, which is on the horizon.
One name that New York has been pretty heavily linked to is a young arm that is having a superb season for the lowly Chicago White Sox.
This would be 25-year-old left-handed starter Garrett Crochet, who was just named as an All-Star for the first time in his career.
In his first season as a big-league starting pitcher, Crochet has gone 6-6 with a 3.02 ERA, a 0.95 WHIP and 150 strikeouts across 107.1 innings (20 starts).
For that, MLB insider Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports called Crochet an option that "would fit quite nicely" with the Yankees.
This is certainly true as the Yankees have the worst ERA (4.20) among winning teams in the American League since May 19, as Nightengale pointed out. However, he wasn't only talking about the Bronx Bombers. The AL East rival Boston Red Sox have posted a 4.13 ERA during this span, which is the second-worst mark in the AL for clubs with a winning-record. This is why Nightengale believes Crochet would be a great fit in Boston as well.
For the Yankees, it would be a tough pill to swallow if they saw Boston land what should be one of their top targets ahead of the trade deadline.
Crochet will likely be costly in terms of prospect capital given he has two more years of team control. But this is more of an all-in year for the Bronx Bombers with Juan Soto likely headed for free agency in the offseason, as opposed to the Red Sox, who are two games up in the final AL Wild Card spot and four games behind the Yankees for the top position.
The Yankees are more inclined to dish out a top prospect in order to acquire a major upgrade such as Crochet. Maybe exciting outfield prospect Spencer Jones would do the trick as the center piece sent to Chicago? It's possible since currently injured outfielder Jasson Dominguez appears to be part of the Yankees' long-term planning, and the word is the organization plans to aggressively attempt to retain Soto this winter.
The Yankees could slide Crochet into their rotation and potentially bump impressive rookie Luis Gil to their struggling bullpen given he is just 6.2 innings away from setting his career-high as a professional hurler. New York needs bullpen help, and they could try sliding starters into relief roles if they were to bring in a starter of Crochet's caliber.
It's safe to say GM Brian Cashman has some major decisions to make with the trade deadline approaching in the next 15 days.