Garrett Crochet Rumors: Cubs, Padres, Yankees, Red Sox, Reds

7:28 p.m.: MLBNetwork’s Jon Morosi reported this evening that a Crochet deal coming together during this week’s Winter Meetings is “increasingly possible.” Additionally, Morosi points out that the Red Sox are “more willing” to listen to top shortstop prospects Marcelo Mayer than previously thought and could become a more significant factor in Crochet’s trade market if they make him available for trade talks with the White Sox.

4:23 p.m.: Garrett CrochetStatus as the top trade candidate of the offseason means there is a lot of excitement surrounding the White Sox southpaw as the Winter Meetings begin. A crosstown trade could be a possibility, as Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that the Cubs have had “at least preliminary discussions” with the Sox about Crochet’s availability.

The Cubs’ list of top prospects is rich with position players who could fit the White Sox GM Chris GetzCrochet’s stated goal is to attract top position player talent in exchange for Crochet’s services. It’s easy to imagine Getz demanding at least one of these Matt Shaw or Owen Caissie as a headliner in a trade package, or maybe even Pete Crow Armstrong if the Sox wanted a player with actual big league experience. Given the Cubs’ strength in both the MLB and minor leagues, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer might feel comfortable parting with a younger blue-chipper for a controllable pitcher.

Crochet is projected to make just $2.9 million in arbitration fees this season, and he will be under team control for another year in 2026. Even if Crochet’s production declines compared to his 2024 numbers, he would still be a bargain average starting pitcher compared to the cost. This could be a special circumstance that would cause the Cubs to continue to expand their rotation, even though Wrigleyville’s starting lineup is already set Justin Steele, Shota Imanaga, Jameson Taillon, Javier Assadand new commitment Matthew Boyd.

The White Sox are known to demand a very high price for Crochet and appeared to have interest in at least one of them Ethan Salas or Leodalis De Vries in trade talks with the Padres, as Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports. San Diego was linked to Crochet in the rumor mill before the trade deadline, but the Friars have apparently drawn the line at moving one of the top two prospects in their farm system.

The Padres and Cubs are just two of the many clubs known to have shown some interest in Crochet over the past six months, and given the low price, it’s probably safe to say that just about every team in baseball is at least reported with Getz about what it would take to land the left-hander. The Yankees refused to trade Spencer Jones to the White Sox for Crochet before the deadline, but MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo (X-Link) writes that New York is still expected to enter the Crochet sweepstakes.

Boston could be a different story as Cotillo hears that the Red Sox “are just on the fringes of the Garrett Crochet talks and are not aggressors at all.” This aligns with Cotillo’s MassLive colleague Sean McAdam’s reporting a few weeks ago, when McAdam wrote that negotiations between the two Sox teams appeared to be at rest have come. On paper, the Red Sox would seemingly be an ideal fit for Crochet, considering Boston’s need for frontline pitching and its collection of elite position players (Roman AnthonyKristian Campbell, Marcelo Mayer, Kyle Teel), but of course a match depends on exactly what Chicago wants in return. For example, there have been reports that Anthony and Campbell are the true untouchables among the Red Sox’ “big four,” so talks with the White Sox insisting on one of these two may have cooled.

There appear to be mixed signals about whether or not the Reds could be involved. Cotillo writes: ““Cincinnati (is) seen as a real threat to land Crochet,” but Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer critically dismisses the possibility, saying that “talks between the Reds and White Sox went nowhere,” “and there’s no reason to think about it.” “At that point they will re-engage.” Wittenmyer points out that both sides discussed Crochet before Cincinnati took over Brady Singer from the Royals, so this deal could mean the end of any higher-level pitching moves the Reds could make.