The No. 1 MLB Trade Deadline Target Might Have Torpedoed His Value

The Chicago White Sox had arguably the No. 1 trade chip, pitcher Garrett Crochet, as the deadline approaches across MLB — until this past Thursday.

What once appeared to be minor concerns about Crochet’s short- and long-term value escalated in a major way when Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported Crochet preferred to remain a starter the remainder of this season, and would only pitch in the postseason if he could sign a contract extension first.

Read more: The MLB Trade Deadline’s Most Intriguing Player Has A List of Requests

The requests aren’t unreasonable. Crochet, 25, has exceeded every expectation for his first season as a starting pitcher, going 6-8 with a 3.23 ERA in 22 starts. He leads the American League with 160 strikeouts in 114.1 innings. While teams might be more interested in preserving his workload in the two-plus seasons before he reaches free agency, Crochet would like to keep a good thing going in a role he’s thriving in.

By extending his contract, Crochet’s acquiring team would get an extra year with him in case Tommy John surgery — a common outcome for hard-throwing pitchers amid escalating workloads — is necessary between now and, say, 2028.

Just one problem: acquiring teams might balk at those requests. And by making them public, Crochet’s camp might have reduced the number of eager suitors contacting the White Sox to those willing and able to offer Crochet an extension.

In effect, Crochet just limited his own trade market. That’s a reasonable guess, at least.

Chicago White Sox general manager Chris Getz effectively confirmed this is exactly the precarious position he finds himself in with one day left before the deadline. Speaking to reporters Monday, Getz sounded off on the effect of Crochet’s requests going public.

“The communication had been very strong between Garrett and I and his agency,” Getz said. “I was a little surprised and taken aback by how they went about it, considering I had a conversation with his agent the night before. That’s not exactly the tactic I would have taken, being a former player.”

Getz was the White Sox’s director of player development before taking over as general manager last year. Prior to that, he played parts of seven seasons (2008-14) with the White Sox, Kansas City Royals, and Toronto Blue Jays.

It’s incredibly rare for a player’s trade value to take a hit right before the trade deadline without an injury. In Crochet’s case, the number of teams bidding against each other could conceivably be lower today than it was last week.

Heyman counted the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres among “many” interested teams. Perhaps we’ll learn by Tuesday’s 6 p.m. ET deadline how much that interest has calmed down.