With Garrett Crochette’s trade status remaining unclear ahead of Tuesday night’s MLB trade deadline, one former baseball executive has an interesting, if controversial, take on what the White Sox might do.
Jim Bowden, a former Reds and Nationals general manager who now writes for The Athletic and MLB Network, opined that Chicago should just demote Crochet to the minor leagues if they don’t trade him by the 6 p.m. deadline.
“Crochet has an option, so if we don’t trade him, we can option him to the minor leagues for the remainder of the season to save some service time,” Bowden said. I wrote to X“Plus, there may be more suitors in the offseason.”
However, the proposal quickly received backlash from baseball pundits and fans.
“It’s always good to see a former GM defend the MLB Players Association’s resolution of grievances at the 360 Windmill.” Written by YouTuber Foolish BaseballThe post received over 1,100 likes.
“What this” Reply Fox Sports commentator Ben Verlander.
The 25-year-old left-hander has proven himself to be one of the best pitchers in baseball this year, pitching a career-high 114 ⅓ innings with a stellar 3.23 ERA and 12.59 strikeouts per nine innings.
Crochette, who has two and a half years left on his contract, has long been considered the best pitching addition at the deadline, but recent controversy over his future role may have killed his hot market.
White Sox general manager Chris Getz told the media on Monday that Crochette’s camp had let slip that Crochette wanted a contract extension and load-management rules to pitch in the postseason for the team to which he was traded, and expressed frustration that Crochette wasn’t considering a move to the bullpen.
“The communication between Garrett and myself and his agency has been very strong,” Getz said. Said. “Given the discussions I had with his agent the night before, I was a bit surprised and perplexed by the way they handled it. It’s not exactly the tactics I would use as a former player.”
Getz Added Crochet’s team’s message was “a little hurtful, to be honest.”
Bowden correctly points out that Crochette, 25, has three options remaining and could be sent to the minor leagues.
But doing so would almost certainly invite the aforementioned complaints, particularly from the players’ association, which seeks to protect players from the manipulation of service time.
2022: Former Cubs star Kris Bryant Lost a complaint That suggests he was the victim of team management intent on delaying his free agency period by a year.
Still, Bryant’s case helped prompt a multi-tiered netting that would thwart service-time manipulation, including giving teams additional draft picks if they promoted a promising player before Opening Day.
Considering Crochette hasn’t played regularly in the minor leagues since 2021 and is coming off the best year of his career following Tommy John surgery in 2022, the move will undoubtedly send ripples throughout baseball, even if it doesn’t have long-term legal ramifications.
In the short term, the White Sox, who traded starting pitcher Erick Feddy, relief pitcher Michael Kopech and outfielder Tommy Pham on Monday, have less than 24 hours to decide whether to move Crochette or wait until the offseason to further explore the market.
