The Boston Red Sox simply lacked the talent to compete with the New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles this season. However, Boston does have a solid foundation in place, meaning a full rebuild isn’t necessary. What the team needs is to spend wisely and aggressively to improve their roster moving forward.
Boston has a few areas to address this offseason, with the most pressing need being to add at least one, if not two, starting pitchers. While there are several free-agent pitchers available, many of them come with high price tags and potential bidding wars. The Red Sox should focus on options like Jack Flaherty or Max Fried, but they should also consider exploring trade opportunities, such as acquiring Chicago White Sox ace Garrett Crochet. Here’s a potential deal that could send Crochet to Boston:
Boston Red Sox receive: LHP Garrett Crochet Chicago White Sox receive: SS Franklin Arias (No. 6 prospect), SS Yoeilin Cespedes (No. 7 prospect), OF Miguel Bleis (No. 8 prospect), SS/2B Mikey Romero (No. 16 prospect)
The White Sox are actively shopping Garrett Crochet this offseason and, as time passes, their leverage continues to diminish. The longer a deal takes—especially if it stretches into the regular season—the lower his trade price is likely to be for any team looking to acquire him.
Right now, Garrett Crochet’s value is still very high, so if the Red Sox are hesitant to part with their top five prospects—something they likely will be—they’ll need to offer a package closer to their sixth, seventh, eighth, and 16th-ranked prospects to land him.
This could include a mix of players like Arias and Cespedes, two promising teenage shortstop prospects. Both have shown solid all-around tools and have hit over .300 during their careers so far. Bleis, on the other hand, has struggled since being promoted from rookie ball, though his potential remains high, meaning he could need significant development if traded to Chicago. Romero, a former first-round pick, had a solid 2023 season, posting an .821 OPS across three levels before finishing the year in Double-A.
The Red Sox desperately need an ace to pair with Tanner Houck at the top of their rotation. If they can find a way to acquire Garrett Crochet without parting with any of their top five prospects, they should absolutely make the move. It would be a valuable opportunity to bolster their pitching staff without depleting their most prized assets.
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