White Sox Ace Linked To Cardinals In Potential Firesale Trade At Deadline

St. Louis might have a chance to land the young stud

Jul 29, 2023; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; A general view of Busch Stadium during the second inning of a game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports / Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

The St. Louis Cardinals might be in last place in the National League Central but they're not throwing in the towel yet and are looking to be buyers by the trade deadline.

The Cardinals need another high-end starting pitcher to add to their rotation. There have been speculations thrown out there but it's too early to tell who they can feasibly land.

One highly-coveted starter has been mentioned as a potential trade candidate with the Cardinals in what would be the product of a firesale from the worst team in baseball.

Chicago White Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet is likely going to be traded this summer and in a list of the top-10 teams who make the most sense as landing spots for the young ace, the Cardinals ranked in at No. 10, Bleacher Report's Zachary D. Rymer wrote Wednesday.

"Bowden wrote the Cardinals 'plan on buying' this summer, and they're otherwise worth considering because their starting pitchers rank last in MLB in rWAR. But they're also in last place in the NL Central, so a big splash on Crochet is likely a reach," Rymer went on to say.

Although landing Crochet might be a long shot for St. Louis, this isn't the first time his name's been tossed out there as a potential trade candidate for the Cardinals.

Crochet has posted a 6-5 record with a 3.33 ERA, 103-to-17 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .190 batting average against and a 0.93 WHIP in 75 2/3 innings pitched for the White Sox in 2024.

The 24-year-old is a desirable candidate for any team looking to have control over a young pitcher with years of promise ahead of him. Crochet still has two full seasons left of arbitration after this season ends and is currently signed to an economical one-year, $800k deal.

St. Louis will likely have to pay a hefty price in prospect capital to put Crochet in a Cardinals uniform. The organization's farm system isn't deep, so it might not be plausible to give up a portion of their limited quantity of top prospects to acquire him.

Adding Crochet to the Cardinals rotation would be awesome but doing so might be a challenge St. Louis won't be able to overcome.

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