The Boston Red Sox have been linked to Chicago White Sox pitcher Garrett Crochet in trade talks since the trade deadline. Unsurprisingly, this has led to several trade proposals from fans and media members on Twitter, on TV, in podcasts, and in articles.
Reports have circulated that the 25-year-old could be traded before MLB's Winter Meetings end, which has caused a swift spike in proposed trade packages for Crochet. Some of those trade proposals make sense. Recently, though, it feels like we're seeing more absurd ideas that would be detrimental to the future of the Red Sox.
Let's look at the recent proposal from former MLB player Todd Frazier that Shawn Palmer (@PalmerDesigns_) brought to everyone's attention on Twitter. Frazier suggested the Red Sox ship four of the top five prospects and Triston Casas to Chicago in exchange for Crochet.
Crochet has incredible upside and was fantastic most of last season. Still, he only has two years of control left and pitched a career-high 146 innings in 2024. His previous high was 54 1/3 in 2021. He didn't pitch in 2022 and threw 12 2/3 innings in 2023.
Crochet racked up 209 strikeouts and was fantastic before the All-Star break. The White Sox put him on a clear restriction following the break, and his numbers took a dip. Still, there's plenty of reason to believe the left-handed pitcher can be an ace. He's absolutely a player the Red Sox should inquire about.
However, that particular trade idea from Frazier is the perfect example of terrible content, almost to the point that you wonder if the former Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees player is wishfully thinking that the Red Sox will be fleeced. Four of the top five prospects would mean four from the group of Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell, Marcelo Mayer, Kyle Teel, and Braden Montgomery. All are top 50-ish prospects.
Anthony is considered the top prospect in baseball by some, and there are others who think Campbell is better than him. Mayer is a top 10 prospect, Teel is in the range of the top 25 and is, at worst, the third-best catching prospect in the league.
Garrett Crochet trade proposals are giving Red Sox fans nightmares
Then Frazier suggests "throwing in" Casas? One of the top young first basemen in baseball? Remember, this is for someone with two years of team control left and 219 innings under his belt in the big leagues.
Frazier's trade proposal is egregious, but it's the perfect example of how ridiculous trade rumors can get. Boston fans are constantly being barraged with trade ideas involving Major League talent like Casas, Jarren Duran, or Wilyer Abreu to be thrown in with multiple top prospects.
The White Sox organization sent star pitcher Dylan Cease to the San Diego Padres for three prospects (only one in the top 100 at No. 85) and a decent 30-year-old reliever. Now, just a year later, we're talking about giving up a proven MLB talent and multiple top-25 prospects for Crochet.
It sounds like a case of people making the Red Sox outbid themselves. If someone offers up more for Crochet because the Red Sox don't want to part ways with Casas, Anthony, and Campbell, Boston fans will be more than okay with missing out on the talented lefty.
Crochet is a fantastic pitcher who would be incredible to have in a Red Sox uniform. That doesn't mean you give away all your assets for him, though. Boston still has options, too. Star pitchers Max Fried and Corbin Burnes are available as free agents and Jack Flaherty is another option. Don't forget about Roki Sasaki, either. There's no need to panic on a Crochet deal yet.
The Red Sox can build something special with the assets they have. There's plenty of talent on the Major League roster and even more in the farm system. Depleting that to get one pitcher is downright negligent.
Trade rumors and proposals can be fun, but let's propose responsibly.