A grain of sand was thrown into the Garrett Crochet trade lottery when the White Sox star’s representation revealed load management rules and an extension request for any potential acquiring team at the trade deadline.
However, the White Sox were unaware of this information prior to its public release and were reportedly furious with Crochet’s management, believing it could have significantly diminished his trade value.
“You can imagine the anger of the White Sox knowing they were not informed of this request before it became public,” USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported.
“Teams that wanted to trade for Crochet … and use him as a hybrid starter and reliever are now wondering whether they should bother acquiring him if he’s going to shut everything down.”
The 25-year-old has already undergone Tommy John surgery once and will be under team control for two more years beyond this season, providing a cost-controlled advantage to acquiring teams.
According to Spotrac, Crochet is only making $800,000 this season.
However, requesting an extension removes the financial benefit of a trade for a player who has not yet reached free agency.
The move by Crochet’s management team, CAA, comes with precedent, including in 2015, when Mets star pitcher Matt Harvey and his agent Scott Boras sought to limit his innings to 180.
In any case, it is a warning to Crochet and his management.
Harvey surpassed that number when the Mets reached the World Series, eventually pitching 215 innings. The star right-hander ended up suffering from thoracic outlet syndrome the following year and never received the significant long-term contract extension he wanted.
Still, Chicago is undoubtedly frustrated because some acquiring teams, especially those in smaller markets, might be attracted to Crochet’s cheap contract and now might be seriously hesitant to trade a large amount of prospects with the uncertainty that he won’t pitch down the stretch.
“Why would I hire a guy who doesn’t want to pitch in the playoffs?” one unnamed general manager told ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
Crochet is expected to have a robust trade market before the deadline, including the Yankees, Mets, Dodgers and Brewers, among others.
The Post’s Joel Sherman reported that the Dodgers are still in the best position to acquire Crochet if he is traded at the deadline.
Crochet leads the American League in strikeouts and is a Cy Young candidate in his first full season as a starter, going 6-8 with a 3.23 ERA in 114 1/3 innings.
New York Post
