With the winter meetings around the corner and the hot stove heating up, it’s also time to think about trades. Here are five deals I want to see this winter.
Garrett Crochet to the Red Sox
It seems like the Red Sox are looking to take big swings again in the free-agent market, and while they wait for Juan Soto to decide if he wants to play at Fenway Park for the next decade, their search for top-tier talent shouldn’t stop in free agency.
Boston needs an ace for a rotation that, while promising, took steps backward in the second half of 2024. And since Craig Breslow took over as the team’s head of baseball operations, pitching has been a priority. While there’s been a lot of buzz around Max Fried being a perfect fit in Boston, there’s a southpaw on the South Side of Chicago who makes plenty of sense.
Garrett Crochet was one of the most coveted trade targets at the July trade deadline, and he remains one of the hottest names on the market. The White Sox’s All-Star lefty took off in his first full season as a starter, going 6-12 with a 3.58 ERA and 209 strikeouts, which ranked seventh in MLB.
Crochet is exactly the type of frontline starter Boston needs, and the Red Sox could get him in the prime of his career. Boston has developed one of the best farm systems in baseball, and it has the prospect firepower to pull off a blockbuster to bring another Chicago ace to Beantown. The Red Sox could also extend Crochet after the trade, which was the southpaw’s preference during the season.
If Boston is going all-in on talent, there’s no need to stop at Soto. Acquiring Crochet would give Red Sox fans something to get excited about.
Devin Williams to the Phillies
The Phillies are right in their window as World Series contenders, and they’ve loaded their roster with plenty of star power offensively, with the likes of Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, J.T. Realmuto and Kyle Schwarber. Meanwhile, their starting pitching has held up its end of the bargain, with an elite rotation featuring Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suárez and 2024 All-Star Cristopher Sánchez.
But the Phillies’ biggest area of need during this era of contention has easily been their bullpen, specifically the back end of the bullpen. After failed experiments with Craig Kimbrel, José Alvarado, Hector Neris and Seranthony Domínguez, there has never been a time when Philadelphia has needed a lockdown closer more.
Enter Devin Williams.
The Brewers’ closer has been electric since entering the…