Surprise team may have the best chance to land Garrett Crochet after all

The Chicago White Sox are widely expected to trade 25-year-old ace Garrett Crochet this winter. The fireballing southpaw was a hot topic around the trade deadline, but sudden and unexpected contract demands scared off contenders and left Crochet to toil on the MLB's worst team.

Now there's a fresh slate and a bevy of contenders hoping to land Crochet's services. He's coming off a revelatory campaign, in which he put to bed concerns about his ability to hold up over the 162-game regular season grind.

Crochet made 32 starts and notched 146.0 innings of work, finishing with a 3.58 ERA and 1.07 WHIP. He also ranked near the top of the American League with 209 strikeouts, posting a whiff rate in the MLB's 93rd percentile. Mixing triple-digit heat and a devastating cutter, Crochet has some of the nastiest stuff out there. His youth, team-controlled contract, and long-term upside only elevate the widespread interest from contenders.

Several standard, big-market organizations have been connected to Crochet, from the Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Red Sox on the east coast to the Los Angeles Dodgers on the west coast. Just about every team can justify investing in Crochet given his present affordability and sky-high potential.

That said, only one team can actually win this sweepstakes, and the White Sox are comfortable letting this drag out until the best possible offer comes across Chris Getz' desk. That opens the door for a sleeper with a loaded farm system and considerable motivation to improve.

Look out for the Cincinnati Reds.

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Reds rumored as legitimate Garrett Crochet landing spot

According to Chris Cotillo of MassLive, the Red Sox are "just on the periphery" of Crochet talks. He instead points to Cincinnati as a "real threat" to land the All-Star's services. That is a tantalizing proposition for a team lurking in the imminently winnable NL Central.

Few divisions in baseball are more wide open than the National League's central division right now. The Brewers are the incumbents, but Willy Adames' departure leaves a massive hole in the middle of that lineup. The Cubs, in theory, are trying to get in the postseason mix, but last season was a masterclass in mediocrity and Chicago's best bats, Cody Bellinger and Seiya Suzuki, are presently being floated in trade rumors. The Pirates? Well, that offense is a disaster.

So... the door is wide open for Cincinnati. The Reds hired Terry Francona, a proven winner, to lead the next chapter of a historic organization. Elly De La Cruz is rapidly approaching MVP heights. This young Reds offense has some real boppers. The pitching staff, meanwhile, is anchored by 25-year-old Hunter Greene, who finished eighth in NL Cy Young voting last season.

Greene and Crochet is one hell of a one-two punch on paper — two flamethrowers of opposite handedness with long prime windows ahead of them. There is, of course, the question of Cincinnati's ability to retain Greene and Crochet long term, but we'd see at least a couple years of genuinely elite pitching atop the Reds rotation. It's an exciting thought.

So, keep an eye on the upstart Reds as they make a bid to take control of the MLB's most winnable division.