The Garrett Crochet deal looked one way last year. After the White Sox punched their ticket to the ALDS, it suddenly looks a lot different.
Chicago beat the Houston Astros in the AL Wild Card round and advanced to the ALDS just two years after sending Crochet to the Boston Red Sox. Boston, meanwhile, was knocked out early by the New York Yankees for the second straight season since the trade.
MLB Network’s Jon Morosi pointed to the return Chicago got in the deal as a big reason the White Sox are now in position to feel good about how that trade has played out.
"The White Sox traded Garrett Crochet to the Red Sox for 4 players, 3 of whom played every inning of the Wild Card Series: Chase Meidroth (2-3, HR, 3 RBI, R in Game 2), Kyle Teel (2-5, RBI, R in Game 2), Braden Montgomery (2-4, R in Game 1)," Morosi shared. "Chris Getz, take a bow."
That return has mattered in a big way. Meidroth, Teel and Montgomery all had a hand in the White Sox’s series win over Houston, while Wikelman Gonzalez is the only player from the trade who has yet to make an impact for Chicago.
The timing of Crochet’s own postseason struggles only sharpens the contrast. In Boston’s elimination game against the Yankees on the same day the White Sox clinched, Crochet gave up four earned runs and didn’t record an out.
Boston has Crochet locked up for the foreseeable future, but the results since the deal haven’t come close to matching the price. Chicago, on the other hand, now has a young core on cheap contracts and an ALDS matchup with the Cleveland Guardians, with a shot at the ALCS still in front of them.
Last year, the Red Sox looked like the clear winners after Crochet emerged as a top AL Cy Young candidate. Now, after the White Sox’s run and the way the players they received have performed, that judgment is far less certain.
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