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.

Reds include MLB talent in order to faciliate Garrett Crochet trade

Reds receive: Garrett Crochet (LHP)
White Sox receive: Noelvi Marte (3B/SS), Alfredo Duno (C), Tyson Lewis (SS), Hector Rodriguez (OF)

If the Reds are able to add Crochet to their starting rotation, Cincinnati would quickly become the frontrunner in the NL Central. No team in that division could boast a better rotation — though the Cubs have a solid stable of starters — and with Matt McLain and Christian Encarnacion-Strand now back to full strength, the starting lineup is beginning to look pretty good as well.

And while Reds fans expect both McLain and Encarnacion-Strand to be big thumpers in the lineup, there are a lot of doubts surrounding Noelvi Marte. After being suspended for the first-half of the 2024 season due to performance enhancing drug use, Marte fell flat on his face during his first full season in the big leagues. The 23-year-old looked lost; both at the dish and in the field. Marte hit just .210/.248/.301 while also committing 12 errors in 55 games during his rookie season.

But Marte's pedigree still warrants serious consideration. While he may have fallen favor in Cincinnati, the White Sox may look at his age, minor league numbers, positional versatility, and contract status as major pluses. Marte is pre-arb eligible and won't reach free agency until after the 2029 season. Prior to his disastrous showing in 2024, Marte posted a .316/.366/.456 slash line in 35 games during the 2023 season. For those reasons and more, Marte could be an attractive part of a trade package for Crochet.

That's especially true if the Reds include their top catching prospect Alfredo Duno. An international signee back in 2023, the 18-year-old backstop is a player that Cincinnati's front office would hate to lose, but Chicago won't settle for pennies on the dollar for a player of Crochet's status. If the Reds are serious about acquiring Crochet, it's going to be painful, and parting with a player like Duno could be part of the equation.

With Edwin Arroyo and Sammy Stafura, the Reds have plenty of shortstop depth in their farm system. That would allow Cincinnati to part with a player like Tyson Lewis if it meant trading for starting pitcher like Crochet. Lewis is a highly-skilled shortstop with plus-speed and phenomenal upside. But with his MLB debut likely four-plus years away, the Reds could conceivably include the 18-year-old infielder as part of a trade.

A lot of Reds fans will probably scoff at the idea of trading Hector Rodriguez. The outfield prospect was acquired in a 2022 trade with the New York Mets that also brought Jose Acuña into the Reds organization. Given the Reds' lack of outfield depth in the farm system, many Reds fans are leery of dealing one of the few talented prospects who isn't either a shortstop or a pitcher. But Rodriguez's upside is exactly why a team like the White Sox would want to include the 20-year-old in a trade package for Crochet.

Reds-White Sox blockbuster trade includes Garrett Crochet & Luis Robert Jr.

Reds receive: Garrett Crochet (LHP), Luis Robert Jr. (OF)
White Sox receive: Andrew Abbott (LHP), Christian Encarnacion-Strand (IF), Cam Collier (IF), Ricardo Cabrera (SS)

Okay, deep breath here, folks. One thing that every single Reds fan continues to talk about is Cincinnati's lack of a power-hitting outfielder. Well, it just so happens that the White Sox have one, and he's said to be available. Luis Robert Jr. (when healthy) is one of the best players in the game. Perhaps the Reds and White Sox could work out a blockbuster deal that would include both Crochet and Robert.

Before we get into the details, it must be understood that a deal like this comes with a lot of risk. Robert had an All-Star season in 2023, but played in only 100 games last season and his OPS dropped 200 points. Robert suffered hip injury in early-April and his performance suffered because of it. Is he fully healthy? That remains to be seen.

Robert is also owed $15 million next season with a $20 million team-option for 2026 and 2027. Both Robert's health and contract have to be factored into the equation, and there's always a chance that a trade for both he and Crochet could include cash considerations to help pay down the remainder of the deal. The Reds received something similar during their 2018 trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers that brought Yasiel Puig, Alex Wood, Kyle Farmer, and Matt Kemp to the Queen City.

But if the Reds were able to lure both Crochet and Robert away from the South Side, they'll have to give up something big in return. Andrew Abbott struggled a bit last season and ended the season on the IL, but when he's right, the lefty is one of the Reds' best pitchers. However, having already added Brady Singer and signed Nick Martinez, you can understand how one of Abbott, Nick Lodolo, or Rhett Lowder could become expendable. One of those pitchers would likely need to be included in order pull off this type of trade.

The White Sox would want a proven major league bat as well. Though Christian Encarnacion-Strand spent most of his 2024 season on the IL, there's some major pop in his bat. Cincinnati has enough corner infielders — both in the major and minor leagues — to the weather the storm of losing CES.

The kicker, however, would be the White Sox's instance to include a top prospect. A player like Edwin Arroyo probably isn't enough to get a deal done, which would mean the Reds may have to sacrifice their future for the present. Many scouts believe Cam Collier to be the real deal, but Chicago could never justify this type of trade unless they were to receive a potential star like Collier in return.

As for the final piece of the puzzle, Ricardo Cabrera is a defensive-minded shortstop who ranks among the top-10 within the Reds' organization. With Arroyo, Sammy Stafura, and Tyson Lewis all in the Reds' farm system, Cincinnati can afford to part ways with one of their many shortstop prospects. If Cabrera isn't enough to pull off this type of trade, one of the aforementioned infield prospects could be substituted.

These are the types of trades that prospect huggers hate, and only the White Sox truly know what type of evaluation they've put on Crochet (and Robert). But the Reds haven't won a postseason series since 1995, and these are the types of deals that could put them in line to break that streak in 2025.

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