The Boston Red Sox's acquisition of former Chicago White Sox pitcher Garrett Crochet may well be the blockbuster move of the 2024-25 offseason.
Sure, Juan Soto signed the richest deal in sports history, but there are only two, or maybe three teams in MLB that would even consider giving him that much money. Many people predicted Soto's landing spot, but the free agent and trade markets are vastly different.
A March 6 story from Alex Speier of The Boston Globe details the Red Sox's pursuit of Crochet, and it was tumultuous. During the Winter Meetings, White Sox general manager Chris Getz weighed five trade offers from different teams for Crochet's services, and Boston was on the list. After they whiffed on Soto days before, the Red Sox needed to get a deal done to improve the team and to placate the fanbase.
They almost whiffed on Crochet, too. Getz recently said he had erased the Red Sox from his list of potential trade candidates.
"To limit the distractions, I just eliminated the Red Sox,” Getz said. “I actually had erased the Red Sox. I didn’t feel like the motivation was quite there.”
Hours later, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow proved how motivated he was. He pulled an all-nighter before the final day of the Winter Meetings to ensure Crochet ended up in Boston, but he didn't do it alone. Red Sox assistant general manager Mike Groopman pulled the Red Sox back into the mix with the other trade candidates.
Unexpected Red Sox front office official helped them land Garrett Crochet from White Sox
Garrett Crochet struck out SEVEN batters across three scoreless innings of work 🐷 #SpringTraining pic.twitter.com/3mh6YkWyjl
— MLB (@MLB) March 5, 2025
Getz and Groopman are "close" personal friends from their time with the Royals organization. Getz, a former second baseman, played there from 2010-13 as Groopman ascended through their front office, and the two even worked together in Kansas City's front office for two years.
The two stayed close even after they departed the Royals organization and would catch up whenever they got the chance. Groopman's connection to Getz secured Breslow the early morning coffee meeting that preceded the Crochet deal.
So even though Breslow pulled an all-nighter and likely agonized over a potential Crochet trade, he likely would never have completed the deal without Groopman's connections to Getz. The Red Sox hired Groopman after the 2021 season and couldn't possibly have expected his involvement in a trade as massive as the Crochet deal.
The Red Sox and White Sox both got exactly what they needed out of the Crochet trade. Chicago was fresh off the worst MLB season of all time with a horrendous 41-121 record and it received four top prospects to kickstart its rebuild. Boston got the ace it desperately needed to take its rotation to the next level, and if the front office can extend him before he reaches free agency in 2027, the Red Sox could have the clearest path to winning the deal.
It's especially nice that Groopman is getting the credit he deserves for his part in the completion of the trade. He brought the Red Sox back from being erased from the conversation and helped them secure their best player this offseason.