Yesterday’s reporting revealed that the White Sox southpaw is in the market Garrett Crochet has begun to heat up, there’s a good chance a deal could come together at some point during the Winter Meetings this week. The Yankees, Red Sox, Padres, Cubs, and Reds are among the suitors mentioned earlier, but MLBNetwork’s Jon Morosi added another suitor this morning when he reported that the Brewers are among the teams remaining in talks with Chicago about and Crochet. .
Milwaukee is an interesting scammer of Crochet services. While the club has focused more on internal development and mid- and lower-tier free agent deals to improve their status as perennial contenders, the Brewers have changed by trading big-name players like this one. Willy Adams again Christian Yelich in the past. Adames, of course, recently signed with the Giants after turning down a Qualifying Offer from the club, but Yelich remains a franchise player under contract in Milwaukee through the end of the 2028 season. While Crochet comes with just two years of team control as opposed to the three-and-a-half and five years of control Adames and Yelich respectively had during their deals, the Brewers are solid in their competitive window. and have many reasons to be angry.
The club has suffered the loss of stars such as Adames, Corbin Burnsagain Josh Hader recent years have left them facing increasing long-term uncertainty, and with teams with exciting young talent in Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Chicago reaching the majors it’s not hard to imagine a scenario where Milwaukee’s recent dominance over the NL Central comes to an end. in the next few years. Adding a top Crochet player to a rotation that’s already like popping Brandon Woodruff again Freddy Peralta this winter could be a way for the Brewers to ensure their competitive window remains firmly open through 2025, and to do so at an affordable financial cost. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects Crochet to make just $2.9MM in his first outing through contention this winter. That’s a salary any club can afford, including the budget-conscious Brew Crew.
Of course, Crochet trading will come with a lot of risks. The southpaw managed 146 innings in 2024 after two seasons lost to injury and has never shown himself to be capable of handling much of a full-time job at the MLB level; while he started 32 games in 2024, 17 of those games lasted less than five innings. Even setting aside those concerns related to volume and health, trading a big-money prospect for a player who won’t be under team control for long can be a tough pill to swallow. Although the prospects are the same Jefferson Quero again Jacob Misiorowski can be used to build an attractive package for Chicago, the Brewers do not have the top talent other beneficiaries such as the Padres (Ethan Salas), Red Sox (Marcelo Mayer) and lambs (Matt Shaw) may be able to provide.
Of course, the potential money lost in a hypothetical Crochet trade can be made up in other ways. The Brewers can take San Diego out of the playbook and end up using it Juan Soto and slot Crochet in their rotation for the year before flipping him next winter. It’s also possible that could net the club a return somewhat comparable to what it gave up if Crochet can stay healthy and prove he can put in a big-league season with plenty of work this year. Otherwise, it’s at least plausible that Milwaukee could explore extension talks with Crochet that could keep him in town beyond his two years in control, though it’s unclear whether the club will have room on its books for Crochet’s type of salary. could be ruled out given that any extension would overlap with the final years of Yelich’s contract.
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