A former Tennessee baseball player is set to be one of the most talked-about names over the next seven days in the lead-up to the 2024 MLB trade deadline on July 30.
All-star pitcher Garrett Crochet has been a thousand-dollar-tool in a dollar-store toolshed with the White Sox this season as Chicago holds the worst record in Major League Baseball at just 27-75. The White Sox have truly floundered this season but also hold one of the top starting pitchers in the nation.
Crochet has the second-most strikeouts in MLB with 150 and is 16th in MLB in ERA at 3.02. The former Volunteer had been on a tear leading up to the All-Star game last week, only giving up 13 earned runs in 13 appearances since the start of May.
The latest reports leading up to the MLB trade deadline this week are littered with Crochet’s name linked to one particular team.
ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez reported on Saturday that while the Los Angeles Dodgers do have a list of names they are interested in for the second half of the season, former Tennessee Vol Garrett Crochet is “considered to be at the top of the Dodgers’ list, regardless of whether he’s a starter or reliever the rest of the way.”
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While the Dodgers do return several key players from injury sometime soon, Los Angeles is reportedly prepared to do what it takes to bring in a high-end pitcher this week.
Bleacher Report tagged the 25-year-old as the top trade target across MLB as the breakout left-hander continues to draw more attention throughout the week. Crochet is arbitration-eligible through 2026 with a current contract of just $800,000, making him one of the most financially efficient players in the sport by a long shot.
Crochet had a bit of a whirlwind time at Tennessee as a collegiate player. The Mississippi native was selected in the 34th round of the 2017 MLB Draft but opted to sign with Tennessee instead. Crochet appeared in 11 starts throughout his freshman season and improved upon that during his next season as a sophomore before a broken jaw took him out of the postseason. Crochet returned for his junior season but only played in one game before the COVID-19 pandemic ended the season after it had just hardly begun.
The White Sox would go on to take Crochet with the 11th overall selection in the 2020 Major League Baseball draft.
The MLB trade deadline takes place at 6:00 p.m. ET on July 30.
