The Phillies ultimately did not acquire a starting pitcher at this year’s trade deadline for the first time since Dave Dombrowski took over as president of baseball operations. That doesn’t mean the veteran executive didn’t make a push for one, per a Friday morning report.
Philadelphia was one of two clubs to make an offer for left-hander Garrett Crochet that the Chicago White Sox “considered attractive” in the final day leading up to the July 30 deadline, according to The Athletic‘s Ken Rosenthal. The Los Angeles Dodgers were also in on the 25-year-old All-Star pitcher.
In the end, the White Sox did not deal Crochet, who reportedly wouldn’t pitch in the postseason for a new team without a contract extension. The Phillies and Dodgers still tried to acquire him, per Rosenthal, even with that knowledge. Philadelphia did not make injured top pitching prospect Andrew Painter available in negotiations. Los Angeles, which continued discussions with the White Sox into the hour leading up to the deadline, didn’t offer catcher Dalton Rushing. The Dodgers did offer right-hander River Ryan, who will now need Tommy John surgery.
Crochet is in the midst of a breakout season in Chicago in his first year as a starter. The hard-throwing lefty has a 3.65 ERA in 24 starts with 167 strikeouts in 120 2/3 innings. Crochet had previously been used as a reliever to limit his workload. He made his big-league debut in 2020 less than three months after he was drafted in the first round, but missed all of the 2022 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. This is his first full season since the injury, and he’s made the most of it in his largest role yet.
The indications have been that Crochet wants to start and believes he can maintain his arm health on a starter’s schedule, but his experience in both roles could’ve been a weapon come playoff time. The Phillies have used starters in relief down the stretch and in the postseason in the last two seasons. Noah Syndergaard served in a hybrid role in 2022, and Michael Lorenzen did the same in 2023. Crochet is performing at a substantially higher level than those two pitchers did, but it’s not hard to imagine the Phillies taking a familiar blueprint and adjusting it for a greater talent. Philadelphia has even deployed Ranger Suárez and Zack Wheeler out of the bullpen in key playoff spots. Crochet could’ve been used in a similar way to utilize his dangerous arsenal while keeping his total innings down by not expecting him to go deep into every start.
While the Phillies didn’t get Crochet this season, the revelation that the White Sox were at least interested in what Philadelphia had to offer could be a positive sign for the chances of a trade between the two sides this upcoming offseason. There will surely be other clubs in play as the lefty has two more years of team control, but the Phillies’ pursuit of Crochet may have a chance to pick back up this winter.
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