White Sox Have Two Pitchers Who Make Sense For Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles are looking to accomplish something that hasn't been done by this franchise since 1973 and 1974 when they won back-to-back AL East division titles.

Sitting 3.5 games back from the New York Yankees entering Saturday, they're going to need to continue playing elite baseball to catch their rivals who have put together an incredible year.

Right now, they are presented with challenges in their starting rotation after John Means and Tyler Wells suffered season-ending injuries.

That's likely going to force general manager Mike Elias to give up some of his top prospects to acquire one of the best available arms by the time the trade deadline rolls around. This isn't something he likes to do, and he'll give his internal options a real shot to prove they can play in the MLB before resorting to shipping out talent.

However, if it becomes obvious they need to upgrade their pitching staff then the Chicago White Sox have two pitchers who would be ideal targets for the Orioles.

Those two are starters Garrett Crochet and Erick Fedde.

Crochet moved into the rotation for the first time in his career this season. He's made that jump incredibly well, posting a 3.33 ERA over his 13 starts, leading the American League in strikeouts with 103 over his 75.2 innings pitched.

The White Sox had a high price tag for teams who were interested in acquiring their ace Dylan Cease this winter, but with a fire sale looming as they sit with the worst record in baseball, then they might lower what they're looking for at this point in the year.

As a left-hander, Crochet could fill in for the left-handed Means, giving Baltimore's rotation another top arm to pair with Corbin Burnes, Kyle Bradish, and Grayson Rodriguez.

What really is going to make the 24-year-old costly to land is that he's under club control through 2026.

That also should ease the Orioles when it comes to this decision, though, as they wouldn't have to worry about him being a rental and leaving in free agency. With Means' time within the organization likely over, he would be a great replacement.

If the asking price is too high, they could turn their attention to Fedde.

The veteran is putting together a great season of his own, posting a 3.27 ERA across his 13 starts after coming back stateside following his year with the NC Dinos of the KBO. He won the Choi Dong-won Award, the equivalent to a Cy Young, after earning the pitching Triple Crown.

Fedde is under contract through 2025, but because he's a veteran arm, he likely won't command the same asking price from Chicago that Crochet would.

There are likely going to be plenty of options for Baltimore if they feel like they need to upgrade their rotation, and because of the strength of their farm system, they have the ability to land virtually anyone they want depending on how aggressive Elias decides to be.