The White Sox had a really good reason not to force Garrett Crochet trade

The Chicago White Sox are a mess. Not only have they lost a franchise-record 17 games in a row to fall to an unfathomable 27-84 on the year, but they had a rough showing at the trade deadline.

They traded Erick Fedde, Tommy Pham, and Michael Kopech in the same deal, only to receive Miguel Vargas and two mid-level at-best prospects. They were able to get off of the Eloy Jimenez contract as well but sold him insanely low.

Not only did they fail to get good value for the players that they dealt, but they didn't even wind up trading the players who could've brought in a ton of value in return in Luis Robert Jr. and Garrett Crochet. As disappointing as it is that the White Sox particularly didn't sell high on Crochet, an argument can be made that they made the right decision in holding onto him past the deadline.

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White Sox were smart to hold onto Garrett Crochet past trade deadline

Crochet has emerged as a legitimate ace for the White Sox this season, posting a 3.23 ERA in 22 starts and 114.1 innings of work. He leads the league with a 2.43 FIP and 160 strikeouts, and he happened to make the AL All-Star team as well. A pitcher of his caliber who happens to be just 25 years old and with 2.5 years of club control would've netted the White Sox a potentially franchise-changing haul in return if traded, but he didn't end up getting dealt.

The biggest reason why the White Sox were right to hold onto Crochet is because Crochet himself tanked his value. When the southpaw said he'd refuse to move to the bullpen and would only pitch in October if he was extended, that undoubtedly scared at least some teams away, and for good reason.

Another reason why the White Sox were right to push this off to the offseason was because there will almost certainly be more competition in that time of the year. Teams like the Chicago Cubs and Toronto Blue Jays who were labeled as sellers at this year's deadline might be looking to buy in the offseason as they attempt to compete in 2025 and beyond. With more competition, that means the price should be higher.

Teams fear injury when it comes to Crochet because he has a history of trouble staying on the field, but let's say Crochet is able to take the ball every fifth day the rest of the way and avoids the IL. Wouldn't teams then believe that not only he is able to be relied upon to start consistently and without innings restrictions?

The White Sox would've gotten a ton for Crochet if they traded him at this year's deadline, but how different is his value if they waited for the offseason when he still would come with multiple years of cheap club control?

There's reason to believe that with more bidders, without the distraction of his recent comments, and with teams more confident in his ability to stay healthy, the White Sox would get more in the offseason than they would've at the deadline, or at least not less.