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White Sox To Hire Phil Nevin For Special Assistant Role

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Phil Nevin is joining the White Sox after all. The former Angels skipper was one of three finalists to fill Chicago’s managerial opening this offseason, but the job ultimately went to Will Venable. However, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that the White Sox are hiring Nevin to be a special assistant in their player development department. Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times notes that Nevin’s hiring is not yet finalized, but it should be made official sometime next month.

Nevin, 53, played for 12 seasons between 1995 and 2006, suiting up for the Astros, Tigers, Angels, Padres, Rangers, Cubs, and Twins. He then coached and managed in the minor leagues for the Tigers and Diamondbacks before earning his first big league coaching job with the Giants in 2017. After one season as San Francisco’s third base coach, he left to work the same job for the Yankees, coaching third base in the Bronx from 2018-21. Nevin began the 2022 season as the third base coach for the Angels, and he took over as interim manager following Joe Maddon’s dismissal that June. The Angels removed the interim tag and brought Nevin back as skipper in 2023, but following another disappointing season, they chose not to offer him a contract for 2024.

Nevin was a finalist for the Padres managerial job that winter, though he lost out to Mike Shildt. He was also reportedly a candidate to be the Mets’ bench coach, though it’s not clear how seriously the Mets considered him for the role. The job went to John Gibbons not long after Nevin was reported to be a candidate.

Now, after sitting out the 2024 campaign, Nevin is back with a team – this time in the front office. While it’s not entirely clear what all of his duties will be in this role, Nightengale notes that one of his responsibilities will be amateur scouting for next summer’s draft. That’s a fitting task for Nevin, who is himself a former first-overall pick.

Dodgers Exploring Alternatives To Teoscar Hernandez

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Negotiations between the Dodgers and outfielder Teoscar Hernandez remain at an impasse, according to a report from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. While L.A. and Hernandez have long expressed mutual interest in a reunion following a successful 2024 campaign that ended in a World Series championship, previous reporting indicated a “gap” remained between the sides in negotiations. Evidently, that gap remains, as Rosenthal reports that Los Angeles brass are “exploring” right-handed alternatives to Hernandez they could add to their lineup instead. The three names Rosenthal lists as potential options for the Dodgers are free agent infielder Ha-Seong Kim, Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki, and White Sox center fielder Luis Robert Jr. Rosenthal emphasizes, however, that it’s not yet clear how serious the Dodgers are about those pursuits.

Of the three names floated, Suzuki is perhaps the best replacement for Hernandez from the Dodgers’ perspective. He hit .283/.366/.482 with 21 homers and 16 steals in 132 games for the Cubs last year. His high on-base percentage and lesser power make him a somewhat different flavor of hitter than Hernandez, but Suzuki’s 138 wRC+ actually has the edge over Hernandez’s own figure of 134. Both are generally regarded as below-average defenders in an outfield corner, but either one would provide the Dodgers with a big right-handed bat to add to their lineup and a regular for the outfield corner not occupied by Michael Conforto.

Good a fit as Suzuki would be, however, acquiring him may be easier said than done. Rosenthal reports that the Cubs are “not inclined” to trade Suzuki this winter. The club entered the offseason with something of a logjam in the outfield due to the presence of both Suzuki and Cody Bellinger, and that logjam only grew when the club added star right fielder Kyle Tucker in a trade with the Astros earlier this month. Since then, the Cubs dealt Bellinger to the Yankees. While that leaves them in a similar situation as the one they entered the winter in, with two right fielders on the roster and Suzuki likely relegated to regular DH duties, the club still seems to prefer keeping Suzuki rather than parting ways with the talented hitter.

Rosenthal suggests that the Cubs feel that Suzuki would be difficult to replace due to a thin market for impactful right-handed hitters. Aside from Suzuki, the middle of Chicago’s lineup is occupied by switch-hitter Ian Happ as well as lefty bats Tucker and Michael Busch, so Suzuki’s presence adds some much-needed right-handed thump to that mix. Suzuki also holds a no-trade clause, but his previously reported desire to avoid being a full-time DH could make the possibility of a trade that would make him L.A.’s regular right fielder a palatable option. Speculatively speaking, it’s possible that the Dodgers could include a talented right-handed bat such as Andy Pages in a package for Suzuki’s services in order to bridge that gap, though six seasons of team control over Pages would be a steep price to pay. Suzuki is under contract for two more seasons and will make $19MM in both 2025 and ’26 before hitting free agency.

Robert, meanwhile, certainly has the potential to match Hernandez’s offensive impact but has yet to demonstrate consistency in the majors. The 27-year-old endured the worst season of his career in 2024 as he hit just .224/.278/.379 (84 wRC+) while striking out at a 33.2% clip, but hit a much more palatable .287/.331/.511 (129 wRC+) over the prior three seasons and is just one season removed from a 4.9 fWAR 2023 campaign. Robert pairs that volatile but potentially impactful bat with impressive speed (he stole 23 bases in just 100 games this year) and quality defense in center field. He also comes with plenty of injury risk, as 2024 was just the second time in his career he played in even 100 games due to a number of trips to the injured list over the years.

Rosenthal suggests that if the Dodgers were to take a chance on the talented-but-inconsistent Robert, he’d slot into center field for Los Angeles. It’s unclear whether that would mean moving Mookie Betts back to right field and playing Tommy Edman at shortstop, or perhaps a move to second base for Edman that pushes Gavin Lux to the bench (or off the team via trade) and leaves right field open for some combination of Andy Pages and James Outman. Robert is guaranteed $17MM in the form of a $15MM salary and a $2MM buyout on a $20MM club option for 2026, but could be retained via club options through the end of the 2027 season if acquired. In terms of acquisition cost, it’s possible that Robert would be less pricey than Suzuki given that Rosenthal reports that the White Sox don’t expect to land multiple top prospects in exchange for Robert, though they would want a “meaningful piece” in return for the All-Star.

Kim is somewhat unique as a potential target for multiple reasons. As a free agent, he’d cost the Dodgers nothing but money as opposed to a trade for Suzuki or Robert that would require some sort of player or prospect return headed the other way. He’s also an infielder who derives much of his value from being a plus defender all across the infield dirt. That makes him a tricky positional fit for a Dodgers club that already figures to juggle Betts, Lux, and Miguel Rojas up the middle. While the club could simply move Betts back to right field, it’s possible they’d prefer to keep him on the dirt and play him alongside Kim with one at shortstop and the other at second base. That would leave Lux without a position, however, and also leave a hole in the outfield left to be internal options or another external addition.

Kim is also by far the weakest hitter of the three at the plate and an undeniable downgrade from Hernandez offensively. While Kim has improved leaps and bounds at the plate after a lackluster rookie season, he’s still more or less a league average hitter with a 101 wRC+ in 2024 and a .250/.336/.385 (106 wRC+) line overall since becoming a regular in 2022. It’s also worth noting that he seems ticketed for the injured list to start the season after undergoing shoulder surgery back in September, though Rosenthal reports that he’s targeting a return to the diamond “early” in the 2025 season. Even so, that would leave the Dodgers utilizing their internal options to fill out the lineup card until Kim is ready to return to action.

White Sox Acquire Cam Booser

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6:06pm: The trade has now been announced, with Booser headed to Chicago in exchange for right-hander Yhoiker Fajardo. To make room for Booser on the club’s 40-man roster, the White Sox designated Corey Julks for assignment. Fajardo, 18, posted a 3.91 ERA in 13 starts during the Dominican Summer League this year. Julks, 28, hit .214/.275/.306 in 66 games with the White Sox this year.

4:01pm: The White Sox and Red Sox are in agreement on a deal that will send left-hander Cam Booser to Chicago, according to a report from Robert Murray of Fansided. The return headed to Boston in exchange for Booser’s services is not yet clear, though James Fegan of Sox Machine reports that a minor league player is the return and Chris Cotillo of MassLive further clarifies that the return is expected to be a minor league pitcher.

Booser, 33 in May, made his big league debut with the Red Sox back in April. After kicking off his professional career with the Twins in 2013, he climbed the minor league ladder but hit a wall in High-A during the 2017 season. He eventually resurfaced in independent ball in 2021 and bounced between indy ball and the minor leagues for the Diamondbacks until joining the Red Sox organization for the 2023 season.

Once he finally made his big league debut last year, he pitched quite well for the club with a 3.38 ERA in 42 2/3 innings of work with a 23.5% strikeout rate with an 8.7% walk rate. That was good for a solid 3.80 FIP, though an elevated 80% strand rate and a low 8.3% home-run-to-fly-ball ratio suggest the possibility of some regression in Booser’s profile as represented by a 3.92 SIERA and a 4.40 xFIP. Despite his somewhat questionable peripherals and an unusual path to the big leagues, however, Booser profiled as a quality middle relief option from the left side.

With Aroldis Chapman and Justin Wilson already added to the bullpen from the left side in Boston and Brennan Bernadino in the fold as a more established lefty option as well, Booser had become somewhat expendable for the Red Sox. That’s evidently led him to join the White Sox bullpen, where he joins former Yankees reliever Ron Marinaccio among external additions this winter. Booser figures to be much higher on the lefty relief depth chart in Chicago than he would’ve been in Boston, as he trades the competition of established veterans like Chapman and Wilson out for less established arms like Jared Shuster and Fraser Ellard.

White Sox Sign Andre Lipcius To Minor League Deal

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The White Sox informed reporters (including Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times) that they’ve inked infielder Andre Lipcius to a minor league contract. He’ll get a non-roster invitation to MLB Spring Training.

Lipcius returns to the AL Central, where he’s spent the majority of his career. The Tigers selected him in the third round of the 2019 draft. The Tennessee product reached the majors with Detroit at the end of the ’23 campaign. He hit .286/.342/.400 in a 13-game sample. The Tigers squeezed him off the 40-man roster last winter. They traded him to the Dodgers, who outrighted him just before Opening Day.

The righty-hitting Lipcius spent the entire season with the Dodgers’ top affiliate in Oklahoma City. He had a solid season, hitting 25 homers with a .271/.351/.458 slash while appearing in 140 games. He drew walks at a strong 10.7% clip while striking out at a league average 22.8% rate. The Dodgers never called him up, so he elected minor league free agency at the end of the season.

While Lipcius has limited MLB experience, he’s a sensible depth target for the White Sox. He carries a .276/.360/.444 slash line in more than 1200 Triple-A plate appearances. Lipcius doesn’t make a ton of hard contact — this year’s home run tally was certainly aided by playing in the Pacific Coast League — but he has good strike zone discipline. A third baseman in college and for most of his time in the Detroit system, he played mostly first base with OKC. He has some experience at second base as well.

The Sox tendered Andrew Vaughn an arbitration contract, meaning he’s likely to remain the starting first baseman. Miguel Vargas is the projected third baseman, though he didn’t hit at all after coming over from the Dodgers in the Michael Kopech/Erick Fedde deadline deal. Glove-first utilityman Lenyn Sosa might get first look at the keystone. There’s a clear opportunity for Lipcius to hit his way into the mix during Spring Training.

White Sox Sign Bryse Wilson

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The White Sox announced that they have signed right-hander Bryse Wilson to a one-year deal worth $1.05MM. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported those terms prior to the official announcement and added that Wilson will compete for a rotation spot and can also access bonuses worth $250K in the deal. The Sox had a full 40-man roster but opened a spot by trading catcher Chuckie Robinson to the Angels.

It’s a bit of an early birthday present for Wilson, who turns 27 on Friday. Despite being relatively young, he has pitched in parts of seven major league seasons to this point, debuting with Atlanta as a 20-year-old back in 2018. While many early debutants are on All-Star trajectories and Wilson was considered a top 100 prospect going into the 2019 season, he has spent most of his career thus far as a fairly unremarkable swingman.

Atlanta kept Wilson mostly in a depth role, not letting him get more than 34 innings in any season from 2018 to 2021. He was then flipped to the Pirates as part of the 2021 deadline deal that sent Richard Rodríguez the other way. He spent the next year and a half jockeying for position in the Pittsburgh rotation without fully cementing himself there. He exhausted his final option year in 2022 and was going to be tougher to keep on the roster going forward. He was designated for assignment going into 2023 and was flipped to the Brewers for cash.

Milwaukee used Wilson as a multi-inning reliever in 2023 and then as a swingman in 2024. He could have been retained for 2025 via arbitration, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting him for a modest salary of $1.5MM, but the Brewers outrighted him off the roster in early November.

Generally speaking, the results have been passable but middling for Wilson. His control has been good but he hasn’t been able to rack up huge numbers of strikeouts or ground balls. Overall, he has a 4.61 ERA in 413 2/3 innings to this point in his career. His 7.4% walk rate is better than average but his 17.1% strikeout rate and 38.8% ground ball rate are both subpar.

He did have a strong 2.58 ERA in 2023 when working solely in relief, but that seems to have been mostly luck. His strikeout, walk and grounder rates were all close to his career norms but he had a tiny .232 batting average on balls in play and high strand rate of 81.2%. His 4.13 FIP and 4.31 SIERA suggested it wasn’t sustainable. In 2024, he regressed back to his typical lane with a 4.04 ERA as the BABIP and strand rate normalized a bit.

Though the numbers have been fairly uninspiring, it’s a sensible fit for all sides. Despite once being a top pitching prospect, Wilson has never been given a full rotation chance. His workload topped out at 115 2/3 innings in 2022, when the Pirates sent him to the minors and to the bullpen multiple times. Going to a club with a wide open rotation like the White Sox is surely an appealing opportunity for him.

For the Sox, this investment is essentially nothing in baseball terms. Wilson’s salary will be barely above next year’s $760K league minimum. They also have almost nothing established in their rotation at this point. They had four pitchers make 21 or more starts for them in 2024 and three of them are gone. Erick Fedde was traded to the Cardinals at the deadline last year. Garrett Crochet was traded to the Red Sox last week. Chris Flexen became a free agent at season’s end. That leaves Jonathan Cannon, who just debuted in 2024, as the only guy who pitched a decent number of innings this year and is still on the roster.

The Sox also have guys like Drew Thorpe, Davis Martin, Sean Burke, Jared Shuster, Nick Nastrini, Jairo Iriarte, Jake Eder, Wikelman Gonzalez and Ky Bush on the roster but no one in that group has even a full year of major league service time or 115 innings pitched in the big leagues.

Though Wilson isn’t much older than the guys in that group, and is actually younger than Martin, he has spent far more time facing big league hitters. He can serve as an experienced veteran, relatively speaking, while he tries to take advantage of a fairly open lane for a rotation job. If several of those young pitchers step forward and earn big league auditions, Wilson can move to a bullpen that’s also fairly lacking in proven options.

Wilson’s service time is between four and five years, so the Sox could actually retain him via arbitration for 2026 if things go well next year. Though if things go especially well, he’s likely to end up being traded at next year’s deadline.

Angels Acquire Chuckie Robinson, Designate Davis Daniel For Assignment

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The White Sox traded catcher Chuckie Robinson to the Angels in exchange for cash, the teams announced Wednesday. The Halos designated righty Davis Daniel for assignment in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Presumably, the trade of Robinson is the White Sox’ corresponding move to open 40-man roster space for righty Bryse Wilson, who reportedly agreed to a one-year deal there earlier this afternoon. Both teams have full 40-man rosters.

Robinson, 30, has played in two big league seasons, logging 25 games with the ’22 Reds and 26 games with the ChiSox this past season. He’s struggled mightily at the plate, hitting a combined .132/.170/.194 in a small sample of 135 MLB plate appearances. He’s graded out well defensively, though, with good marks for his framing and quality caught-stealing rates. Robinson nabbed nine of the 31 opponents who tried to swipe a base against him in 2024 (29%).

Although Robinson hasn’t hit in his minimal action at the big league level, he’s a .272/.330/.423 hitter in three Triple-A seasons. He also still has a pair of minor league options remaining. He’ll be no higher than third on the organization’s catching depth chart behind Logan O’Hoppe and Travis d’Arnaud, but he’ll give them a more flexible third catcher than they had with the out-of-options Matt Thaiss (who has coincidentally made his way to the White Sox after first being traded from the Angels to the Cubs).

The 27-year-old Daniel will lose his spot on the Angels’ 40-man roster as a result of today’s swap. He’s seen major league time with the Halos in each of the past two seasons but been tagged for an ugly 5.06 ERA in 42 2/3 innings. Daniel has a below-average 19.9% strikeout rate and a solid 8.1% walk rate during that time but has averaged a tepid 92.1 mph on his four-seamer while posting poor whiff rates.

Daniel’s 2024 struggles extended to his Triple-A work (5.43 ERA), but he posted solid numbers there in 2022 (4.49 ERA, 102 1/3 innings) and was sharp in the minors and in the Arizona Fall League as recently as 2023. He also has a minor league option remaining. That could prompt another club to take a look, but if not, Daniels can be outrighted to Triple-A and retained as non-roster depth. The Angels will have a week to trade him or attempt to run him through outright waivers.

White Sox Acquire Matt Thaiss From Cubs

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The Chicago teams have lined up on a minor trade. The White Sox acquired catcher Matt Thaiss from the Cubs for cash, the teams announced. The Sox had an opening on the 40-man roster, so there was no corresponding move.

Thaiss was only an offseason acquisition for the Cubs. They landed him from the Angels in a cash trade last month. He had a path to backup job behind Miguel Amaya at the time. That’s no longer on the table. Chicago signed Carson Kelly to a two-year free agent deal last week. Amaya and Kelly will split the catching reps at Wrigley Field.

Kelly’s signing made a Thaiss move all but inevitable. He’s out of options, so the Cubs couldn’t send him to the minors without putting him on waivers. Teams rarely carry three catchers on the active roster for an entire season. The Cubs could have carried Thaiss into Spring Training as injury insurance, but they’d likely have been squeezed into a roster move if their top two catchers were healthy on Opening Day.

Trading Thaiss now gives him some clarity and opens a spot on the Cubs’ 40-man roster, which had been at capacity. Thaiss has a decent chance at breaking camp on the South Side. Korey Lee had a .210/.244/.347 showing in a career-high 394 plate appearances this past season. Chuckie Robinson, who has 51 MLB appearances and turned 30 this week, was the only other catcher on the 40-man roster.

The Sox have a pair of highly-regarded catching prospects, Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero, who aren’t far off major league readiness. They were each the headliners of recent trades. Teel led a four-prospect return from the Red Sox in last week’s Garrett Crochet deal, while Quero was the big piece in the 2023 deadline deal that sent Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo López to the Halos. Both players should make their big league debuts next season, though they might each open the season at Triple-A Charlotte.

Thaiss, a left-handed hitter, brings more on-base ability than Lee provides. He’s a career .208/.313/.342 hitter who posted a .204/.323/.299 slash across 186 plate appearances with the Angels this year. Thaiss takes plenty of pitches, which allows him to work a lot of walks but contributes to lofty strikeout rates. He has never graded as a particularly strong defender, which led the Angels to move him from catcher to first base early in his minor league career. He moved back behind the dish in 2022 but grades as a below-average pitch framer with subpar arm strength.

MLBTR Podcast: Winter Meetings Recap

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Tim Dierkes, Steve Adams and Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

White Sox Sign Dan Altavilla To Minor League Deal

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The White Sox announced Thursday that they’ve signed right-handed reliever Dan Altavilla to a minor league contract. The MAS+ Agency client will be in spring training as a non-roster invitee.

Altavilla, 32, has pitched in parts of seven big league seasons but frequently dealt with injuries that have limited his amount of time on the mound. Since making his MLB debut with the 2016 Mariners, Altavilla’s laundry list of injuries includes shoulder inflammation, a pair of UCL sprains (the latter resulting in Tommy John surgery), a forearm strain and a notable oblique strain that sent him to the 60-day injured list just this past season.

In his first three seasons from 2016-18, all coming with Seattle, Altavilla pitched a combined 79 2/3 innings with a 3.28 ERA, 25.3% strikeout rate and 10.7% walk rate. He’s managed just 40 big league innings since, working to a combined 6.53 earned run average along the way. It’s not as though Altavilla has been consistently healthy in the minors during that stretch, either; he’s totaled 84 1/3 minor league frames in that time, bringing him to a total 120 1/3 frames in a span of six years.

There’s little doubt that Altavilla is talented when his arm is right. Even with his recent injury-plagued seasons weighing down his career numbers, he carries a 4.36 ERA and 26% strikeout rate in the big leagues. He pitched just 3 2/3 MLB innings with Kansas City this past season but averaged a sizzling 96.8 mph on his heater. In 41 Triple-A innings for K.C., he logged a 3.51 ERA, albeit with a 22.2% strikeout rate and 12.9% walk rate — both pedestrian marks.

The rebuilding White Sox will have plenty of room for non-roster players to compete for bullpen jobs this coming spring. Right now, the only relievers with even a year of experience in the Chicago bullpen are Justin Anderson, Jared Shuster, Steven Wilson and Ron Marinaccio. If Altavilla cracks the roster, he could log some meaningful innings and will be controllable through the 2026 campaign, as he currently has only 4.153 years of MLB service.

Red Sox Acquire Garrett Crochet

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The long-awaited Garrett Crochet trade is finally here. The lefty will be swapping his White Sox for Red Sox, according to announcements from both clubs. Four prospects are going the other way: catcher Kyle Teel, outfielder Braden Montgomery, infielder Chase Meidroth and right-hander Wikelman Gonzalez.

Crochet, 25, was the eleventh overall pick in the 2020 draft and made his big league debut that same season with a six-inning cup of coffee. He was a key piece of the White Sox bullpen in 2021 with a 2.82 ERA and 2.80 FIP in 54 1/3 innings of work but missed the entire 2022 season and a portion of the 2023 campaign after undergoing Tommy John surgery. The lefty ultimately made just 13 appearances in the majors last year and struggled in 12 2/3 innings while walking more batters than he struck out during that time.

When the White Sox made the decision to not only move Crochet into the rotation but name him the club’s Opening Day starter back in March, the news came as something of a shock given his lengthy injury history. The move proved to be a fateful one, however, as Crochet went on to turn in a dominant season for Chicago to emerge as the club’s lone bright spot amid a brutal 121-loss season. Crochet pitched 146 innings across 32 starts for the White Sox this year, and in doing so posted a 3.58 ERA (115 ERA+) with a phenomenal 2.69 FIP. Among starters with at least 100 innings of work in 2024, Crochet led the sport in strikeout rate (35.1%) and SIERA (2.53) while also posting an elite 5.5% walk rate and a solid 45.1% groundball rate.

Those unmatched peripheral numbers paint a picture of Crochet as among the game’s very best starters on a rate basis, offering a rare combination of command and top-end velocity from the left side. That’s not to say Crochet comes completely without concerns, of course. He was quite prone to giving up hard contact with the White Sox this year, as evidenced by 14.4% of his fly balls leaving the yard for home runs and a 9.2% barrel rate that was in the bottom 15 among all MLB starters with at least 140 innings this year. While that proclivity towards lackluster batted ball results can be more than made up for with Crochet’s elite strikeout-to-walk ratios, the lefty’s lack of track record due to a substantial injury history is also sure to raise some eyebrows. His 146 innings of work this year represents the first time he’s thrown more than 65 innings in a season dating back to his college days in the SEC, and he threw even 90 pitches in just nine of his 32 starts this year.

Of course, it’s hardly a surprise that Crochet’s workload was closely managed given he more than doubled his previous career high for innings in 2024. Barring injury, it’s easy to imagine the Red Sox being able to stretch him out for larger workloads over the course of his two remaining seasons of team control, and perhaps even for as soon as the 2025 campaign. Ultimately, Crochet profiles as one of the most impactful arms in the entire sport on a per-inning basis, and that was clearly enough for a Red Sox club that has been on the hunt for an ace all winter to pull the triggers regardless of durability concerns.

The upside to Crochet’s limitations in previous seasons is that it has tamped down his earning power to this point in his career. He has accrued over four years of major league service time but since so much of that was spent either on the injured list or in the bullpen, he hasn’t been able to push his salary up terribly high. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for just $2.9MM next year. He will be due another raise in 2026 before his slated trip to free agency but probably won’t even be able to get to eight-figure territory due to his modest starting point. Given the massive prices being paid for free agent starters this winter, Crochet’s situation gave him a huge amount of trade value.

In return for two years of Crochet’s services, Boston is giving up a massive prospect haul. Teel is the clear headliner, ranked by Baseball America as the #25 prospect in the sport and Boston’s third-best prospect behind only Roman Anthony and Kristian Campbell, both of whom reports have suggested the club regards as untouchable. A left-handed hitting catcher, Teel was the 14th overall pick in the 2023 draft and hit an excellent .299/.390/.462 in 84 games at the Double-A level this year before earning a promotion to Triple-A. The youngster rates as a solid defender behind the plate who is expected to have no issues sticking behind the plate, and with his 23rd birthday coming up in February it’s not hard to imagine him taking over as the everyday catcher for the White Sox in Chicago sometime in 2025.

In addition to Teel, the Red Sox are also dealing 2024 first rounder Braden Montgomery. The 12th overall pick in this year’s draft, Montgomery is a switch-hitting outfielder who has yet to make his pro debut but slashed .322/.454/.733 in 295 trips to the plate for Texas A&M this year. BA ranks Montgomery as the #59 prospect in baseball while MLB Pipeline ranks him as the #54 prospect in the sport, noting that he offers plus power and double-plus arm strength that should make him a good fit for right field. Meidroth and Gonzalez, meanwhile, are not considered top-100 prospects in the sport but are nonetheless well-regarded within Boston’s system. Per Pipeline, they ranked as Boston’s #11 and #14 prospects prior to the trade.

Meidroth was the club’s fourth-rounder in the 2022 draft and looked good in 122 games at Triple-A this year with a .293/.437/.401 slash line. The 23-year-old offers little power and profiles best as a second baseman in the majors but also has experience at third base and shortstop. Like Teel, he could impact the White Sox as soon as this year. Gonzalez, meanwhile, signed with the Red Sox out of Venezuela and made his pro debut back in 2019. He split his time between the rotation and bullpen at the Double-A level in 2024, posting a 4.73 ERA in 83 2/3 innings of work. His solid 25.6% strikeout rate at the level was overshadowed by a 12.8% walk rate. It’s possible Gonzalez could make an impact at the big league level out of the bullpen in the near-term, but given Chicago’s lengthy timeline for a return to contention it would hardly be a surprise to see the club opt to develop the 22-year-old carefully with an eye towards a future in the big league rotation.

With Crochet now in the fold, the Red Sox have checked the biggest box off of their offseason to-do list by adding a premium talent to the front of their rotation. What’s unclear, however, is the club’s next steps. Rumors percolated earlier this winter that the club may pursue multiple top-level pitching additions, and given the fact that the club reportedly prepared a formal offer for top free agent starter Corbin Burnes last night such an addition can’t necessarily be ruled out. A lower-level addition to supplement the rotation appears more likely at this point, however, given recent reporting expressing skepticism regarding Boston’s odds of landing Burnes. A reunion with Nick Pivetta or a pursuit of Walker Buehler have been floated as possible alternative free agent targets for the Red Sox and could allow the club to further build out depth for a rotation that currently projects to see Crochet joined by Tanner Houck, Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford, and Lucas Giolito next year.

Aside from bolstering the rotation, the Red Sox still figure to explore the market for a right-handed addition to their lineup. Teoscar Hernandez and Alex Bregman have both received buzz as potential targets for Boston, with Hernandez theoretically joining a crowded outfield mix as a replacement for Tyler O’Neill while Bregman would slot into the club’s lineup as the everyday second baseman barring a decision to move Rafael Devers off third base. Now that Teel is headed for Chicago, bolstering the club’s depth behind the plate seems likely and finding a back-up such as James McCann to pair with Connor Wong could be a priority for the club.

Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe (X link) first reported that the Red Sox were about to acquire Crochet with Teel going the other way. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (X link) first reported the other names in the deal.

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