The Boston Red Sox fanbase had been clamoring for a huge offseason for quite some time, and they finally got it this winter. The team made moves like signing fomrer Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman and Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Walker Buehler. But their first big move of the offseason took place at the MLB Winter Meetings, where the Red Sox acquired Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Garrett Crochet.
Boston had to give up a lot, specifically, four of their top prospects, to land Crochet. A ton of credit was given to team's chief baseball officer Craig Breslow for getting a deal done. But it sounds like Breslow wasn't the one who made sure a deal transipired.
According to Alex Speier of the Boston Globe, White Sox general manager Chris Getz had narrowed down potential trade partners for Crochet down to four teams. One of the teams eliminated from the running were actually the Red Sox. But, Speier reports that assistant general manager Michael Groopman, a friend of Getz, helped bring the team back to the table, which ultimately led to the trade getting finalized.
"The early-morning coffee meeting — needed given the minimal sleep the prior night and throughout the Winter Meetings, an event fueled by 'more caffeine than is probably medically advisable,' according to Groopman — represented step seven, a chance to get a clear indication from Getz about what the White Sox needed to complete a deal, information that Groopman could relay to Breslow," writes Speier. "...Shortly after Groopman returned to the Red Sox’ suite, Breslow called Getz with a revised offer that put the talks on a downhill path."
Red Sox assistant GM Michael Groopman helped bring team back into Garrett Crochet hunt at Winter Meetings
Groopman and Getz had been friends since 2010 when Getz played for the Kansas City Royals and Groopman was part of the front office. Since then, the two have maintained a personal friendship.
While Breslow was the one who finalized the trade with Getz, Groopman helped bring the team back to the table to land the rising star in Crochet. Specifically, the Red Sox added another player to the trade package, and now, Crochet is in Boston.
Crochet is coming off of a promising first year making the transition from the bullpen to the starting rotation. In 32 starts, Crochet recorded a 3.58 ERA, a 1.07 WHIP, 209 strikeouts, and 33 walks in 146.0 innings.
Now, Crochet slots in as a top of the rotation option for the Red Sox in 2025 in what is a weak American League. Now, the next step the team will have to make is sign Crochet to a contract extension, even though he is under team control through the 2026 season.
But based on this reporting from Speier, the Red Sox would have never gotten to this point had Groopman hadn't held a meeting with Getz at the Winter Meetings.