Cubs are nowhere to be found among list of Garrett Crochet trade finalists

Garrett Crochet is changing his socks. Well, I hope he does that regularly regardless, but he'll suit up for the Boston Red Sox in 2025 after former Chicago Cubs brass and current Boston chief baseball officer Craig Breslow swung a trade for the left-hander, addressing a major need atop the rotation.

After spending parts of three seasons as a reliever, the White Sox made him a full-time starter in 2024 and that gamble paid off handsomely. Crochet was an All-Star on a historically bad team, making 32 starts, punching out more than a dozen batters per nine and working to a 2.69 FIP in 146 innings of work.

White Sox GM Chris Getz parlayed that breakout season as a starter into a package of prospects from the Red Sox headlined by catcher Kyle Teel, along with outfielder Braden Montgomery, infielder Chase Meidroth and right-handed pitcher Wikelman Gonzalez. Teel (25) and Montgomery (54) are MLB Pipeline top 100 guys, so it's a nice return for the South Siders.

While we all know how this shook out, with Crochet heading to Boston, there were rumblings that the Cubs had some level of interest in a trade for the southpaw. But, according to Bob Nightengale, they weren't among the finalists in trade talks with the White Sox.

There aren't a ton of surprises on this list. Boston, obviously, landed him, and Atlanta and New York make sense for two different reasons involving Max Fried. The Braves just lost the left-hander, with the Yankees signing him to an eight-year, $218 million deal - the largest ever for a left-handed pitcher. It stands to reason the Yankees were in on Crochet until they signed Fried. Now they've pivoted to shoring up the offense and are reportedly in talks for both Kyle Tucker and Cody Bellinger.

The Philadelphia Phillies and Dave Dombrowski can't ever be ruled out on big-time moves like this. Adding him to a rotation that already features Zach Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Christopher Sanchez and Ranger Suarez would have been a huge statement in the loaded NL East - but, alas.

One team, however, is a surprise - and that's the Cincinnati Reds. With new manager Terry Francona at the helm and a core of young players on the rise, the club is looking to make moves heading into 2025. The rotation is anchored by Hunter Greene, but there's a major drop-off after the fire-balling righty. Crochet would've given the Reds a legitimate 1-2 punch, but they'll have to pivot after missing out.

As for the Cubs, the front office seems focused most on shaking up an offense that has gone stagnant over the last two seasons. Moving Bellinger and his contract is a top priority - and could clear the path to the club acquiring Kyle Tucker from the Astros. I wouldn't rule out another rotation addition this winter, but it appears any conversations between the Cubs and Sox cooled long before things got serious.