Pirates fans already discouraged by potential trade package for star pitching target

Starting pitching might be the only area in which the Pittsburgh Pirates don't need to make dramatic improvements before 2025 – and yet, they've already been linked to one of the hottest starting pitchers on the trade market.

Chicago White Sox ace Garrett Crochet is a prime sell-high candidate for a rebuilding team, as he is young and still has two years of arbitration eligibility remaining before he becomes a free agent. Given that Crochet was the subject of numerous rumors at the trade deadline before ultimately staying in Chicago for the remainder of the season, we have every reason to believe that the White Sox will put him on the trading block once again during the offseason.

Crochet would be a valuable addition to any starting rotation in baseball, but there are certainly plenty of teams that are hungrier for starting arms than the Pirates are. And yet, in a recent story for Bleacher Report, MLB writer Kerry Miller included Pittsburgh as one of eight teams that could put together an enticing trade package for the 25-year-old southpaw.

Miller proposed that a hypothetical Pirates trade package for Crochet could feature a trio of prospects, including right-handed pitcher and top-100 prospect Braxton Ashcraft, shortstop Mitch Jebb and right-handed pitcher Levi Sterling.

Pirates would be unwise to pursue offseason trade for White Sox ace Garrett Crochet

Ashcraft is obviously at the center of Miller's proposed package as the No. 4 prospect in the Pirates' system per MLB Pipeline who is on the cusp of breaking into the big leagues. Jebb and Sterling are the Pirates' No. 9 and No. 11 prospects, respectively, and are both more than a year away from being Major-League ready.

First off, there are undoubtedly many other teams who can – and will – offer the White Sox more than that for Crochet. Secondly, if the Pirates are going to part with three of their top-20 prospects in exchange for one MLB player, that MLB player needs to be a power bat, a reliever, a corner outfielder or virtually any other position where the club has a more pressing need for top-end talent.

Crochet is an elite pitching talent, and the Pirates have plenty of depth to deal from, but they would be wise to invest their trade interests elsewhere this offseason.

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