Why the New York Mets couldn’t land Garrett Crochet

Could the Mets have acquired this All-Star pitcher?

Sep 14, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Garrett Crochet (35) pitches against the New York Yankees during the first inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images | Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

After the New York Mets saw their season come to a disappointing end, there are certainly many questions about what went wrong with the team.

Despite being the best team in baseball during the first two months of the season, the Mets struggled in the following three and a half months. With the lack of consistency and length from the starting rotation during New York's downfall, could the Amazins' have avoided these woes by trading for this ace pitcher last winter?

In a September 29 article from the New York Post, Jon Heyman reported that the Mets could have traded for All-Star southpaw Garrett Crochet from the Chicago White Sox for four prospects. However, the four prospects the White Sox would have wanted from the Mets were Brandon Sproat, Jett Williams and potentially more. The Mets clearly had no intentions of dealing those top prospects.

https://t.co/RC7whWBKj3 Mets need to be less cautious/more aggressive (in here: many, many suggestions of who to pursue, starting with Tarik Skubal)

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) September 29, 2025

Crochet, of course, was traded to the Boston Red Sox in December 2024. Coming off a successful first season as a starting pitcher with Chicago last season, the 26-year-old lefty improved even further in his first season in Boston. After being named the Red Sox's Opening Day starter, Crochet tossed five stellar innings against the Texas Rangers, allowing two earned runs on five hits with four strikeouts in a 5-2 win; just three days later, he and the Red Sox agreed to a six-year, $170 million extension.

In 32 starts, Crochet posted an 18-5 record with a 2.59 ERA, 255 strikeouts (the most in all of baseball) and a WHIP of 1.03 across 205.1 innings pitched. The lefty hurler was also named to his second straight All-Star Game.

Read More: Key takeaways from Mets' end-of-season press conference

It goes without saying that the Mets' rotation crumbled during their three-and-a-half-month downward spiral, as their veteran starters either struggled or landed on the injured list. This forced the team to rely on their three young pitching prospects (Nolan McLean, Brandon Sproat and Jonah Tong).

Adding an ace like Crochet would have certainly helped their beleaguered rotation during their push to the postseason. But instead, the Mets have now headed home, and upgrading the rotation will be one of the top needs that president of baseball operations David Stearns has to address during the offseason.

During his end-of-the-season press conference on Monday at Citi Field, Stearns hinted that anything is on the table to address New York's need for starting pitching. Perhaps he will look to acquire a front-line ace this winter to help the Mets contend in 2026.