Latest proposed Garret Crochet trade is a sign the Orioles need to pivot elsewhere

We've done a lot of talking about White Sox ace Garrett Crochet as a potential trade target for the Orioles this winter, and for seemingly good reason. Crochet was a stud in his first year as a full time starter. He has one of the best strikeout rates in the entire league and was extremely effective in terms of run prevention in 2024.

His 3.58 ERA was good in its own right, but it was backed up by a stellar 2.69 FIP and the Statcast data absolutely loves Crochet's stuff. So it's no wonder that the White Sox are reportedly asking the world for him, even though he has just two years of control left before he hits free agency.

There was word last summer about Crochet's desire for a contract extension and while it might make sense to want to lock the 25 year old up for the long term now, there are real concerns about his durability that will make any team think twice about making that decision.

Earlier in the winter, it was suggested that the Orioles might be able to land Crochet if they were to include top prospect Samuel Basallo in a potential trade. The Athletic's Jim Bowden confirmed those assumptions in his latest column, stating that there's little chance the Orioles could work a deal with Chicago if neither of Basallo or Coby Mayo were in the trade.

The Orioles can't afford to pay the price to acquire Garrett Crochet

To that point, Orioles GM Mike Elias told reporters earlier this week that they're going to be extremely hesitant to trade anyone in their group of top prospects. Therefore, it's seems reasonable to think that the Orioles will be outside of any serious discussions.

However, Bowden did mention the Red Sox as a potential trade partner and the group of players he suggested that would get the White Sox to bite is pretty over the top. Bowden wrote that a package of first baseman Triston Casas, outfielder Wilyer Abreu, and catcher Connor Wong "might be enough" to get a deal done.

There are downsides to all of the guys in that group but Abreu just came close to winning AL Rookie of the Year, Casas dealt with injuries last year but looks like a star in the making, and Wong is coming off a career year.

If the idea the White Sox have is that they can get someone like Heston Kjerstad on top of Coby Mayo in a package from the Orioles, it's no wonder that the O's aren't taking it seriously. Crochet is a nice piece but he has a very limited track record and not nearly enough team control to make a trade like that, from the Orioles perspective.

If you're Elias in this situation, you just have to sit back and let someone else trade a massive bundle of talent to acquire Crochet. There are other avenues to acquiring talent, and the Orioles would be wise to look elsewhere if these Bowden ideas are true.