White Sox star Garrett Crochette’s trade race has been thwarted after his agent revealed load-management rules and contract extension demands to any team hoping to acquire him at the trade deadline.
But the White Sox Public Release They are reportedly furious with Crochet’s management and believe his trade value may have been significantly reduced.
“Considering that the White Sox were not informed of the request until it was made public, it’s not hard to imagine the White Sox were furious,” USA Today’s Bob Nightingale reported.
“Teams that had hoped to acquire Crochette in a trade and use him as a starter/relief hybrid are now wondering whether they should bother acquiring him if he can lock down their team.”
The 25-year-old has already had Tommy John surgery and will remain team-controlled for two more years after this season, giving any team that acquires him a cost-saving advantage.
According to Spotrac, Crochette is expected to make just $800,000 this season.
But seeking a contract extension would eliminate the financial advantage of trading for a player who is not yet a free agent.
The move by Crochette’s management team, CAA, has some precedent, notably in 2015, when Mets star pitcher Matt Harvey and his agent, Scott Boras, tried to limit Harvey to 180 innings.
If anything, this should serve as a warning to Crochet and his management team.
Harvey far surpassed those numbers, pitching 215 innings in the Mets’ run to the World Series. The star right-hander suffered from thoracic outlet syndrome the following year and never got the long-term contract extension he wanted.
Still, Chicago is undoubtedly unhappy because there may be teams, especially small-market teams, who are attracted to Crochette’s cheap contract and may have serious hesitations about trading away a ton of prospects with the uncertainty that Crochette might not pitch down the stretch.
“Why would you want to acquire a player who isn’t going to pitch in the playoffs?” An anonymous general manager spoke to ESPN’s Jeff Passan..
Crochet predicted an active trade market ahead of the deadline, including the Yankees, Mets, Dodgers and Brewers.
The Washington Post’s Joel Sherman reported that the Dodgers remain in the best position to acquire Crochette if he is traded at the deadline.
Crochette led the AL in strikeouts and was a Cy Young Award candidate in his first full season as a starter, going 6-8 with a 3.23 ERA in 114 1/3 innings.
