Plays 9 innings with the Red Sox as they trade for Garrett Crochet

Red Sox

The Red Sox gave up top prospect Kyle Teel and 2024 first-round pick Braden Montgomery in the trade.

By Chad Finn, The Boston Globe

December 12, 2024 | 8:18 a.m

5 minutes to read

Playing nine innings while officially declaring Mookie Betts a bargain…

1. The price the Red Sox paid to acquire 25-year-old left-hander Garrett Crochet and his dirty repertoire from the White Sox on Wednesday was undoubtedly high. But it wasn’t nearly as steep as it could have been, and it’s a trade that Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow had to make after so many laudatory finishes in the hunt for top free agents. This is a bold and finally encouraging step for the direction of the recently stagnant franchise.

The Red Sox waived top catcher Kyle Teel, outfielder and 2024 first-round pick Braden Montgomery, infielder Chase Meidroth and pitcher Wikelman Gonzalez. The White Sox should be happy with the haul. Teel has the level of a solid 10-year big leaguer, even if his defense never fully develops. Montgomery is a talent with five skills, a rocket arm and a personality that makes a manager’s job easier. Meidroth is a walk machine (105 at Triple A Worcester last season). Gonzalez has a lively arm. It’s without a doubt an excellent return for the gutted White Sox.

2. And yet, based on the perception of what we thought the Red Sox might have to give up to acquire Crochet, this feels like a win, Capital W. The Red Sox haven’t given up on any of their top three prospects – outfielder Roman Anthony, second baseman Kristian Campbell and shortstop Marcelo Mayer, the latter of whom was rumored to be involved in a potential Crochet trade and whom the Red Sox would have sold at a low price.

It’s a little disturbing to realize that Teel is no longer the cornerstone of the Red Sox’s future, and perhaps their internal assessment of him was a little lower than the perception in baseball. I was looking forward to seeing Montgomery play right field at Fenway one day, but there’s a good chance he’ll never be better than Wilyer Abreu is right now.

It’s okay to be nervous about this deal. Also understandable. But above all, it makes sense to feel good about it. This is the type of trade Breslow had to make – out of a glut of prospects with a dire need for top-notch pitching.

3. Colleague Alex Speier noted that trading Crochet was akin to the Red Sox acquiring Josh Beckett (and Mike Lowell – forget Mike Lowell) from the Marlins for a package of prospects that included Hanley Ramirez. in November 2005. That’s a great parallel. To me, it’s a bit like they traded for Chris Sale after the 2012 season, four years before they actually acquired him. In Year 12, his first year as a starter, the 23-year-old Sale had a 3.05 ERA, a 1.135 WHIP and a 9.0 strikeout per nine innings. Last season, Crochet was the starting starter after throwing just 12⅔ innings in the previous two seasons following Tommy John surgery. He posted a 3.58 ERA, a 1.068 WHIP and struck out an incredible 12.9 batters per nine. His performances, including a 97 mph fastball and a vicious sweeper, are among the best in baseball. It’s going to be a lot of fun watching this guy pitch.

4. Count me among those who believe the Red Sox were serious about pursuing Juan Soto, who ultimately signed with the Mets for a mere $765 million over 15 seasons. Even if this pursuit had a justifiable limit – around $700 million, it seems – the fact that they were sincerely willing to go that high is evidence enough that this was not a fake move aimed at achieving that , convincing fans to be willing to spend money on elite talent again without actually acquiring the elite talent. I think they were serious.

5. Of course, Red Sox fans have the right to be skeptical or even cynical about the ownership and motivation of the front office in pursuing Soto. If you believe the reports that Mets owner Steve Cohen wouldn’t be outbid no matter what the price was (spoiler: he wasn’t outbid), then yes, it would have been smart business for the Red Sox to make a bid if he paid up Soto paid an exorbitant amount, knowing that he would almost certainly accept the best offer and that the Mets would too always Make sure they had the best deal.

6. That post-Soto approach came to a discouraging conclusion Tuesday night when Max Fried, the best left-handed pitcher on the market, signed an eight-year, $218 million contract with the Yankees, rejecting the Red Sox, their last offer was reportedly significantly lower. The Crochet news alleviated that, and hey, eight years is an awfully long time to commit to a 30-year-old pitcher who struggled with forearm problems last season. Fried was my preferred choice to reinforce this staff, but Crochet is five years younger, and did I mention his clothes crackle with electricity? It will be fascinating to see which talented lefty is better in the next few years.

7. Where do the Red Sox go from here? It’s simple: spend! Spend! Spend! They should be all-in against Corbin Burnes (a good option they almost had). have (who I want to sign now, even if there is a slight decline) or Roki Sasaki (whose preferred market apparently remains unclear even to his agent). And they have the money to fill the tender for a hard-hitting, right-handed hitting outfielder (Teoscar Hernandez is the best option for power and chemistry reasons) and/or Alex Bregman (who last season or last season at this on-base percentage of .315 wasn’t great) to win. His OPS was under .800 in the last four games, but he’s a right-handed hitter, a leader and versatile).

8. Let’s get this on the record now: Trading Triston Casas would be a mistake that could be haunting. Sure, he’s quirky, and quirky is sometimes a synonym for annoying or immature. But he has a rare combination of power and patience, and I don’t like the idea of ​​trading him for a cost-controlled pitcher who has promising analytics but limited actual success. The Mariners reportedly turned down Casas for Bryan Woo or Bryce Miller. These guys are talented (Seattle’s rotation is enviably deep and Woo was much better last season than many East Coast players probably realize). But I’m glad the deal didn’t happen.

9. I am thrilled that Dave Parker and Dick Allen, two of the coolest hitters of my childhood, have been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Classic Era Committee. Still disappointed and confused as to why Luis Tiant, who was one of the sport’s most charismatic characters and, for all intents and purposes, the first-ballot pitcher of Hall of Famers Jim “Catfish” Hunter and Don Drysdale, continues to be overlooked.