An Orioles-White Sox trade to give AL East team another ace for their playoff push

Over the offseason, the Baltimore Orioles made a huge splash by acquiring the Milwaukee Brewers ace in a trade that sent Corbin Burnes to Baltimore. The Orioles sent back a package of shortstop Joey Ortiz and left-handed pitcher D.L. Hall back to the Brewers. They also sent the 34th pick in the 2024 draft, part of Competitive Balance Round A, to Milwaukee.

Now, five months later, Baltimore could be in the market for another ace to pair alongside Burnes at the top of their rotation. Lucky enough for them, the Chicago White Sox have just that, a dominant ace, available on the trade market if the price is right.

And the Baltimore Orioles could definitely meet the asking price if they wanted to.

An Orioles-White Sox trade to place Garrett Crochet beside Corbin Burnes in Baltimore

But this idea isn't mine alone, in fact, Jeff Passan of ESPN was the biggest voice to make his opinion known on this when he matched the Orioles to Crochet in his latest article.

"Baltimore's restraint is among the organization's best qualities, but without a World Series appearance in more than 40 years, the Orioles can stand to take a risk on Crochet, whose fastball-cutter combination should launch him to his first All-Star appearance. Crochet leads the AL in strikeouts, sports a 3.05 ERA and shut out the next team on this list [LA Dodgers] over 5⅔ innings Monday."

Nobody in Baltimore wants to lose Coby Mayo. I mean, the young man is absolutely terrorizing Triple-A pitching this season, especially as of late. His slash line of .307/.381/.654 this season is downright mind boggling. But to catch a big fish, you need to use big bait.

In the package, Mayo, baseball's 19th ranked prospect, is complemented by pitchers Chayce McDermott and Seth Johnson.

Chayce McDermott, Baltimore's 8th ranked prospect, is a righty that's having a successful season in Triple-A. He seems to be near ready for the big leagues and could likely crack a ton of rotations in baseball, just not the Orioles'.

Seth Johnson is having the same success as McDermott, just in Double-A. He's had a little bit of an issue with walks this season, but it shouldn't be anything to worry about. He's a valuable pitching prospect to have.

Like I said, to catch a big fish like Crochet, you need to use big bait and that's exactly what this deal is. The Orioles have the most loaded farm system in baseball, and it may still be the best, even after moving three of their top ten prospects in a deal like this.

Acquiring Crochet would be game-changing for an Orioles team that is looking to beat out the New York Yankees in the AL East. A trade like this could be looked back on as to why a team did or did not win the World Series. Baltimore needs to get aggressive for Crochet.