Four prospects, including the Carmines’ No. 4 and 5, head to Chicago
Every decade or so, the White Sox make a Chris Sale trade. Only in 2024, it’s called the Garrett Crochet Trade.
On Wednesday the White Sox shipped their ascendant southpaw star east to Boston in return for four Red Sox prospects. Included in the bunch is Boston’s No. 4 overall prospect, Triple-A catcher Kyle Teel, and No. 5 overall, rookie league outfielder Braden Montgomery. Also in the deal are No. 11 overall prospect Chase Meidroth (Triple-A infielder) and righthander No. 14 overall Wikelman Gonzalez (Double-A starting pitcher).
In almost any circumstance, four legitimate prospects for any single player is a steep price, so at first blush it’s hard to argue with this return, even given Crochet’s high ceiling. Teel headlines the deal in spite of Edgar Quero similarly positioned in Triple-A (in fact, Edgar was promoted to Charlotte earlier than Teel was part of a ballyhooed move in August, when Boston promoted their Top 3 prospect to Triple-A at the same time. A talent logjam at any position has been a foreign concept to the White Sox — outside of DH, possibly — forever, so, what the hell, collect ALL the catchers, Chris Getz.
At very brief blush, Teel profiles a helluva lot like Quero, in that he appears to be a hit-first clubber who can handle work behind the dish. Like Quero, Teel’s arm is not dynamite. Unlike Quero, Teel has some swing-and-miss in his game, making Edgar’s bat tool a little stronger. And unlike Quero, Teel started his pro career getting reps at corner outfield, so perhaps by the second half of 2025 Teel is a sub-catcher to Quero while also seeing time in the outfield and elsewhere. His combined minors stats in a robust 112 games/505 plate appearances (all at catcher-DH): 13 homers, 78 RBIs, 12 steals in 17 attempts, .288/.386/.433 and just 20% of runners caught as catcher. His pop times are hot, however, and Teel has earned enough praise as a game-caller that he was tabbed as Boston’s surefire catcher of the future.
Teel was a Top 100 Prospect across the board before last season, ranking No. 40 with MLB, No. 47 with Baseball Prospectus and No. 62 at Baseball America, and also played in last year’s Futures Game. (By contrast, Quero was ranked by just BPro, at No. 78, before last season.)
Teel will be 23 on Opening Day. He was drafted in the first round (No. 14 overall) in 2023 out of the University of Virginia. Taken just one spot before the White Sox chose shortstop Jacob Gonzalez, Teel could well have been Chicago’s target in the draft as the pick approached.
Braden Montgomery was Boston’s most recent No. 1 pick, selected No. 12 overall in 2024 out of Texas A&M University. Playing 61 games in the outfield for the Aggies and even pitching in two (yes, Montgomery is a potential two-way player for the White Sox) proved the outfielder had some solid stamina. However, after suffering a brutal ankle injury during the College World Series, the slugger did not make a professional debut in 2024. Depending on how the rehab of his ankle proceeds, we could see Montgomery get a soft start with ACL time in 2025, or just right to Kannapolis in April.
Montgomery mans right field, which speaks to a strong arm. The switch-hitter also mashes holy hell out of the ball, clubbing 27 homers (nearly one every two games!) with 85 RBIs in 2024. Sure, those are metal-bat DINK homers, but you swing with the bat they hand you, right? Montgomery slashed .322/.454/.733 in 2024 and did not have to sell out for that power (53 walks, 59 Ks). Also, keep in mind that he whammied those 27 homers while playing in the best college conference in the land, the SEC.
Meidroth is the sort of player Getz dreams on, and hey, rest easy Rick Hahn, we’ve got a new Nicky Madrigal in the house. Meidroth played a full season in Triple-A in 2024 and declared himself 100% ready for the majors, with a cuckoo 105 walks (!) against 71 Ks to generate a .293/.437/.401 slash (no, don’t rub your eyes, that is some full-on Madrigal slugging, baby!). Of his 122 games with Worcester, 51 came at shortstop, 35 at third base and 19 at second (plus 20 games slacking as a mighty mite DH), so Getz’s weird threat of Colson Montgomery as Opening Day shortstop can take a chill pill.
As a pro, Meidroth has never hit worse than .255 or got on base less than 38.6% of the time in any one stint in his career. The grinder will be 23 on Opening Day and was a fourth round pick for Boston in 2022.
As you would expect, Gonzalez is the biggest wild card of the trade package, as a starter just scratching Double-A. He’ll be 23 on Opening Day is almost surely returning to Double-A to begin the year, given 24 games there and a 4.73 ERA to speak of it in 2024. The odd part of it for Wikelman is that his fast ascendance in 2023 got him to that level at just 21 years old, and for his 10-game grande mocha to end the season he was superb: 3-1 with a 2.42 ERA. His overall numbers from 2023 (great!) to 2024 (meh) at Double-A don’t reveal much more than a few additional fly balls seeing the other side of the fence.
Gonzalez’s ERAs have always alternated high-low (albeit always in a challenging slot age-wise), so the righty might be due for a fab 2025. At any rate, it’s not for nothing Wikelman is ranked No. 14 in a superior farm system like Boston’s.
Crochet, of course is a pitcher to dream on, and worthy of a nice prospect haul. He was Chicago’s lone All-Star in 2024 after his shocking ascendance from maybe-rotation to Opening Day starter to elite southpaw and Most Improved Player. He logged 146 innings in a season that best-case you might have seen 110 coming, with a 4.1 WAR that was sogged by increasingly short, weird starts to play out the death march long past any meaning could be attached to games.
However, unlike fire sales of years past (Sale, Dylan Cease, et. al) the Crochet trade centers on a player with almost zero track record to play off of. While the southpaw seemingly did not have the axe to grind with the White Sox that Sale did, the notion he would re-sign with the White Sox after Chicago lost control of him in 2026 seems remote — and that’s even presuming the All-Star can maintain his dominance. So as token efforts at a contract extension were destined to continue up until September 2026, Crochet could have transformed into Bob Gibson and not seen his price met by the South Siders.
While this package from Boston does not top the elite Yoán Moncada-Michael Kopech move of 2016, it comes close, with less rationale on the part of the Red Sox. But from Boston’s end, you can only field 26 players on the MLB roster, so having elite talent in those spots that fill out your 40-man only takes you so far; when you’re on the verge, package the prospects and upgrade at Fenway.
Ideally, the White Sox will be in position to make similar moves again someday. Soon? No. But, someday.
