The Mets need starting pitching next season and are reportedly looking to acquire a young hurler in the trade market.
According to The Post’s Jon Heyman, the Mets are “one of the teams discussing” Garrett Crochet this offseason. Crochet, of course, is the Chicago White Sox’s best pitcher and was available at the trade deadline in 2024, however the Southsiders did not get the compensation they were looking for and kept him.
One of the Mets’ needs is the starting rotation after Luis Severino and Sean Manaea went to explore free agency. So trying to add a dynamic arm like Crochet makes sense. But what are the White Sox looking for?
White Sox GM Chris Getz talked about it in regards to Crochet this week on 670 The Score in San Antonio.
“We are focusing on position player return,” Getz said. “That is our primary focus in any trade talks. The right players have to be there. We can’t force anything. We certainly need to improve our offense. That is very clear. That is what we need to do in any trade or free-agent acquisition.”
Crochet, 25, posted a 3.58 ERA and 1.068 WHIP across 32 starts (146 innings) in 2024. He was named an All-Star for the first time and struck out 209 batters, giving him a strikeout rate of 12.9 batters per nine innings.
The Mets have plenty of position players in their farm system — many with some big league experience. Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio and Luisangel Acuna have all had cups of coffee — or more — in the majors and there are also prospects on the precipice of a callup like Drew Gilbert.
The Mets will certainly not be the only team looking into a Crochet trade. The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres were teams in on him at the 2024 deadline so it stands to reason they could be vying for Crochet’s services again.
Crochet is under contract until 2026.
