The New York Yankees are expected to be aggressive at this year’s trade deadline, and one of the names that could go is left-hander Garrett Crochet. The Chicago White Sox will be clear sellers this summer, and a report from Jon Heyman suggests the Yankees like him, indicating that they could kick their tires on a potential deal. Through 14 starts this season, Crochet has a 3.33 ERA with a 34.3% strikeout rate, and while injuries have largely derailed his career, the 25-year-old is finally healthy and dealing for the White Sox.
It would take an unbelievable haul to land his services, as Crochet is under contract for two more seasons after this one, but could the Yankees supercharge their rotation with one of the best left-handers in the American League?
Garrett Crochet Could Be A Deadline Target For the Yankees
If the New York Yankees want to build a super-rotation, this would certainly be the way to go, as Garrett Crochet could provide the Yankees with some left-handed punch to their rotation. It would also allow them to move some starters to the bullpen, killing two birds with one stone come October. There’s no such thing as having “too much pitching”, especially in a climate where pitchers get hurt constantly.
Through 14 starts, Crochet has a 3.33 ERA and a 34.3% strikeout rate, and his stuff has been brilliant this season. There are some concerns about his durability, but the depth of his arsenal is utterly phenomenal. He possesses a great four-seamer that he can throw up in the zone for whiffs, his cutter is a firm pitch with gloveside movement that gets whiffs and soft contact as well, his slider generates a lot of strikeouts, and his changeup works well to throw right-handed batters off.
It’s hard to argue that he wouldn’t immediately slot near the top of the rotation for the Yankees, forming one of the best trios in the game with Gerrit Cole and Luis Gil. The Yankees have a lot of starting pitching, and they could weaponize that in trade talks or for their bullpen. Could Clarke Schmidt go to the bullpen in this scenario with Carlos Rodon potentially grabbing a playoff rotation spot? That would certainly boost the depth for that group.
This wouldn’t be a cheap addition, the Yankees would have to part ways with premium prospects to get such a deal done, but they definitely have the names to do it. The question would be whether they’d deplete their farm system that much, especially given that they have bigger needs in the bullpen and at first base, but they could find a way to fix both issues with this move, as they could leverage their starters to land bats or try move them to reliever roles in October.