Garrett Crochet takes his involvement in trade rumors as a “compliment” — hopes to stay with White Sox originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
As the MLB trade deadline nears at the end of July, the rumor mill begins to churn.
One of the rumors that concern the White Sox includes that of Garrett Crochet being traded. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported the Padres have recently shown “strong interest” in Crochet, given injuries to starters Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove in San Diego.
But when Crochet hears his name in trade rumors, he thinks of it as praise.
“It’s a huge compliment,” Crochet said to Chuck Garfien on the “White Sox Talk Podcast.” “To have your name mentioned in a trade, typically, I guess it’s 50-50, but typically it’s going to a team that’s buying and a team that’s competing at the deadline.”
With the historically woeful direction the White Sox are trending, most speculate they’ll be significant sellers at the MLB trade deadline in late July. Crochet is aware of the situation, as he told NBC Sports Chicago he “could expect those [moves] to happen.”
Crochet is off to a strong start in his first year as a true starter. He’s holding onto a 3.49 ERA (49th in MLB), 0.93 WHIP (4th in MLB) and a 5-5 pitching record. His 93 strikeouts this season equate to the second-most in the league. He’s walked just 15 batters this season, too.
Crochet’s fastball is one of the most elite in the game, keeping opposing batters to a .150 batting average this season. He uses his fastball, which averages 96.8 miles per hour, just over 50% of his pitches. He compliments that fastball 24.2% of the time with a cutter.
Crochet is a highly-coveted asset this trade deadline for a few reasons. His ceiling and young age point to a positive career trajectory, considering this is his first full season as a starter. His contract situation is the kicker of the trade, as his situation is extremely team-friendly.
He’s making $800,000 this season while being under club control for another two seasons. His on-field value paired with his friendly contract situation could yield the South Side a strong return in a hypothetical trade.
Crochet understands the value he holds, calling his involvement in the rumor mill a “compliment” to the season he’s having as a first-year starter. But he also admits every baseball player’s dream is to remain with their native team.
“It’s a huge compliment but at the end of the day, if I go out there and I have one bad outing, it could be completely derailed,” Crochet said. “Regardless of that, or not, I love being with the team that drafted me. I think it’s everybody’s dream with the team that drafts them and the team they debut with to kinda transform their whole career there.”
Crochet said while he was at Tennessee, those teams took pride in putting Vols baseball “back on the map.” Tennesee finished seventh in the College World Series one season after Crochet was drafted to the White Sox.
But now as an evolving start in MLB, he’s not offended when he hears his name in trade rumors.
“When it comes stuff like that and those conversations that occur, it’s not really something that I’ve considered personally.”
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