3 Reds-White Sox blockbuster trade proposals to bring Garrett Crochet to Cincy

The Cincinnati Reds are taking this offseason seriously. President of baseball operations Nick Krall lit the hot stove last month after trading Jonathan India and Joey Wiemer to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for starting pitcher Brady Singer.

After that deal went down, most Reds fans assumed Krall and Co. would turn their attention to Cincinnati's woeful starting lineup. After all, a rotation of Singer, Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, Andrew Abbott, Nick Martinez, and Rhett Lowder looks pretty nice, right?

But rumors emerged on Wednesday linking the Reds to Chicago White Sox starter Garrett Crochet. The left-hander was one of the most dominant pitchers in the game last season, and with two years of team control remaining and a low arbitration number, Crochet is a hot commodity this winter. But could the Reds really meet the White Sox's asking price for their All-Star starter?

If Cincinnati is truly interested in trading for Crochet, what will it take? The White Sox are said to be targeting position players — something the Reds have in abundance — so perhaps these two clubs match up rather well.

Reds unload top prospects in Garrett Crochet trade

Reds receive: Garrett Crochet (LHP)
White Sox receive: Sal Stewart (IF), Sammy Stafura (SS), Chase Petty (RHP), Lyon Richardson (RHP)

The White Sox were involved in a blockbuster trade last spring for another top pitcher with two years of team control remaining. Just before Opening Day last year, the White Sox dealt Dylan Cease to the San Diego Padres in exchange for a prospect-laden package headlined by Drew Thorpe. The Padres' right-hander, who was acquired in the Juan Soto deal with the New York Yankees, was a top-100 prospect at the time. San Diego also sent Samuel Zavala, Jairo Iriarte, and Steven Wilson to Chicago.

A similar package might be enough to entice White Sox GM Chris Getz to part with Crochet this winter. The Reds have five top-100 prospects according to MLB Pipeline, and it'll take at least one such player to seal the deal. In this instance, that player is Sal Stewart. The former first-round pick has a terrific understanding of the strike zone, but his defensive home is far from defined. The Reds have enough of those players already.

There's a lot to like about Sammy Stafura — which is why the White Sox would probably insist on including him in a trade for Crochet. After selecting Tyson Lewis in the second round of last year's MLB Draft, the Reds can afford to part with Stafura.

Chase Petty might be the one name mentioned in this proposal that ruffles the feathers of the Cincinnati faithful. Petty was acquired in the Sonny Gray trade back in 2022 and is seen as a potential frontline starter in the very near future.

In order to put a bow on the trade, Cincinnati could throw in Lyon Richardson. A former second-round pick, Richardson is little more than a depth piece for the Reds at this point, but he could be given a longer look as part of the White Sox rotation in 2024.