Crochet focused on 'pitching for the White Sox' amid trade rumors

CHICAGO -- Garrett Crochet pitches Sunday for the White Sox during the series finale of a weekend set against the Mariners at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Making start No. 22 of the 2024 season remains Crochet’s only focus. But the 25-year-old would neither confirm nor deny a Thursday report from Jon Heyman concerning Crochet needing a contract extension to extend himself and pitch in October if he was traded.

“No comment. Right now I’m just focused on pitching for the White Sox,” said Crochet during a pregame media session in the White Sox dugout before a 10-0 loss, marking the team’s 12th straight setback in a game where rookie Drew Thorpe allowed eight runs in two-thirds of an inning. “In terms of that, it kind of just is what it is.

“I’m focused on pitching for the White Sox. Beyond that, I’m not really controlling much.”

Crochet’s immense success has been one of Major League Baseball’s top stories.

After being selected 11th overall in the 2020 Draft out of Tennessee, Crochet reached the Majors that same season as part of the White Sox bullpen. He posted a 2.82 ERA over 54 relief appearances in 2021 but lost the ’22 campaign and much of ’23 due to Tommy John surgery and the ensuing rehab.

There was an overwhelming desire to start for Crochet, which he expressed at the end of the '23 season and then did the same with general manager Chris Getz and manager Pedro Grifol during the ensuing offseason. Not only did Crochet get that rotation chance, but he became the White Sox Opening Day starter and made his first All-Star appearance, leading the American League with 157 strikeouts to go with 0.97 WHIP and 3.07 ERA.

At 6-foot-6, 245 pounds, Crochet is a physical specimen who was clearly capable of handling this huge workload increase, jumping from a career innings total of 73 to 111 1/3 innings this season. In monitoring those innings, Crochet prefers to work more controlled, shorter starts in the season’s second half while staying on or close to that five-day starter’s routine.

In Crochet’s last three starts, he threw four innings and 93 pitches at Miami (July 6), two innings and 28 pitches at home against the Pirates prior to the All-Star break (July 12) and four innings and 74 pitches on July 24 in Texas. Even with this slowdown, Crochet hopes to get back into the 100-pitch range before the season’s end assuming he stays with the White Sox.

“One hundred percent,” Crochet said. “With all the work I put in this offseason, I expected it to go well. I’m most happy with not only my health but the way my stuff has maintained throughout the season. When I was coming out of the 'pen, there were weeks where my slider wasn’t there or my fastball command wasn’t there.

“I’ve kind of had my good stuff for the most part every time I step out there. My pitchability has gone up. It’s working out well.”

Tuesday’s Trade Deadline at 5 p.m. CT won’t cause Grifol to skip Crochet on Sunday, unless a potential deal was moving to its final stages. The workload for Crochet the rest of the way will be adjusted to some extent as the season progresses.

“It will start dwindling down, but we’re still not there,” Grifol said. “He threw 74 pitches the other day, and it will hover around the same thing for a little while until we see examples of something that makes us make an adjustment.

“For right now, that’s where he’s at. He’s feeling good. He’s strong. All the tests, all the work, manual work, bullpens, everybody who is involved in this, there’s no red flags anywhere.”

If the White Sox don’t move Crochet before the July 30 deadline, they could explore an offseason deal involving the big left-hander with more teams involved who are not currently looking to add. The White Sox also could try to extend Crochet and rebuild around him or continue on over the two remaining years of arbitration with him atop the rotation.

When Crochet was asked if he thought he still would be part of the White Sox come Tuesday evening, he smiled but scoffed at such an idea.

“Come on. That’s not for me to speculate,” Crochet said. “No matter which way it sways, it’s out of my control. I think there’s some things that show you it’s a business but I’m not really sitting at the table per se. Right now, I’m just focused on making starts for the White Sox.”