of the White Sox has had a very unusual trajectory which makes him one of the more unique trade candidates. Per reports from as well as , Crochet would prefer to stay in a starting role through the end of the year but clubs have concerns about how he will hold up down the stretch. As he pushes his workload into uncharted personal territory, he reportedly desires a contract extension before pitching in October. This is a situation that has been a long time coming, given the strange combination of Crochets elite 2024 campaign and lack of previous track record. Back in 2018, he to sed 63 2/3 innings of college ball in Tenne see, then added another 65 innings the year after. In 2020, he mi sed some time due to shoulder sorene s and then to sed just 3 1/3 innings before the pandemic shutdown. The Sox then selected him 11th overall in that summers draft. There were no minor league games that year due to the pandemic, but they called him up the majors and he pitched six innings down the stretch. With his limited workload, they kept him in a relief role in 2021 and he to sed 54 1/3 innings that year. Then Tommy John surgery wiped out his 2022 season and limited him to just 25 innings in 2023: 12 2/3 in the majors plus 12 1/3 minor league frames from his rehab a signment. That left Crochet coming into 2024 with 217 1/3 innings of official game action on his arm over the six-year period from 2018 to 2023. The 65 innings from his second college season were his personal high for one year and his biggest workload as a profe sional was the 54 1/3 relief innings from 2021. Ignoring the college years altogether and he only had 85 1/3 innings as a profe sional, majors and minors combined, Jackson Wolf Jersey coming into this year. He only logged 25 totals innings over the past two years. Despite all of that, the Sox stretched him out as a starter this year and the results have been better than anyone could have reasonably hoped. Through 21 starts, he has logged 111 1/3 innings, a higher tally than his entire profe sional workload coming into the season. He has allowed 3.07 earned runs per nine innings with a 35.4% strikeout rate, 5.6% walk rate and 46.1% ground ball rate. Despite the fairly limited number of innings, Crochet has actually been nudging towards free agency due to all that time spent on the injured list. He cro sed three years of service last year and qualified for arbitration. But due to all the mi sed time, he only got his salary bumped to $800K, just barely over this years $740K league minimum. Hell be able to raise his salary via two more arbitration pa ses before hes slated for the open market after the 2026 season. Normally, a 25-year-old having a breakout as a bonafide ace wouldnt be available on the trade market, but the circumstances of the Sox might allow it to happen. They are awful this year, with a record of 27-77, easily the worst in baseball this season and in the running for one of the worst ever. It will take a lot of work to get them back to contention and it may not happen within their window of control over Crochet. Signing him to an extension would be a po sibility but his quick call-up means that hes on track to hit free agency after his age-27 season. That puts him on a path for a ma sive free agent payday if he stays healthy for the next few years, so he may not want to give that up easily. All of these factors have made Crochet seemingly available and in plenty of trade rumors. He has already been connected to the Padres and Dodgers with plenty of other clubs presumably interested as well given his performance, affordability and availability. But hanging over all of this has been the question of what an acquiring team could expect from Crochet down the stretch. Given that hes ventured so far beyond his previous workloads, would he be able to continue starting for the rest of the year? Would he need to be moved to a relief role or shut down completely? The two extra years of cheap control are obviously still appealing but teams would naturally have questions about what remains in 2024. From Crochets perspective, its understandable that he may want the security of having an extension in place before the postseason arrives. Any club acquiring him would be hoping for him to be playing a key role through a World Series run, either as a starter or a reliever. Since hes already mi sed significant time due to Tommy John surgery and is currently pushing his arm to places its never been before, its fair that hes thinking about a safety net. Crochet reportedly wants to keep starting, believing that to be the best option for his long-term health. If any club wants to shift him to a relief or hybrid role, he would want to be given an extension first. He wouldnt really have the ability to simply decide to shut himself down, but at the same time, a theoretical club acquiring him would have some overlapping interest with Crochet. Trading for Crochet is already a long-term proposition with his two extra years of control, so any club acquiring him would naturally want to keep him happy and healthy for at least that amount of time. Given his obvious talents, keeping him around for longer via an extension would have appeal as well. But negotiating contract extensions can be tricky busine s and accomplishing something like that in short order during an ongoing pennant race would be a challenge. That might be especially true in Crochets case, as all the unique circumstances of his career might make it difficult to align on value. Perhaps all of these complications reduce the chances of a trade coming together in the next few days. The White Sox dont nece sarily need to trade him now, given the extra two years of club control. An offseason trade could perhaps even lead to a larger market of suitors, as the Sox wouldnt be limited only to those currently contending. Waiting until the offseason would come with some risk of Crochet getting hurt between now and then and they would also be marketing two postseason runs instead of three, but the workload/extension concerns might be a thing of the past if he can finish the season healthy. Taken all together, there are plenty of moving parts here and it should lead to White Sox general manager spending plenty of time on the phone in the next few days. The circumstances around Crochet are fairly unprecedented, meaning theres no real blueprint for whats to come. Isiah Kiner-falefa Jersey