In the Orioles' search for a top-of-the-rotation type starting pitcher, they could turn back to a pitcher whose name came up a lot at the midseason trade deadline – lefty Garret Crochet.
Baseball insiders feel he is a prime trade prospect right now. He has two years of team control left for the Chicago White Sox, but they are not likely to win much in those two seasons. He could help them more in the future when they hope to be better by acquiring young position player talent to help them down the road.
To get Crochet for the next two years, a team will have to part with some premium talent very likely. If the Orioles were willing to part with one of Jackson Holliday, Coby Mayo, Samuel Basallo or Heston Kjerstad they could get the White Sox's attention. But that is a pretty big if. Very big.
MLB Network insider Jon Heyman recently said four clubs - the Orioles, Red Sox, Dodgers and Phillies - are showing the most interest in acquiring the left-hander.
Crochet, age 25, went 6-12 with a 3.58 ERA for a 121-loss team. Over 146 innings he allowed 123 hits with a 1.068 WHIP with 2.0 walks per nine and 12.9 strikeouts. He didn’t have enough innings to qualify for league leaders but would have been first in K/9, sixth in WHIP and 10th in opponent OPS at .642.
