The Boston Red Sox seem ready to go for it this winter.
After failing to make good on the promise of a "full throttle" offseason last year, the front office has recommitted to making top-tier roster additions in hopes of a return to the playoffs.
"At the GM Meetings, there's a widespread sense that the Sox can trade for nearly anyone," Alex Speier reported for the Boston Globe. "White Sox lefthander Garrett Crochet tops the list."
There's good reason to see Crochet as the most tantalizing trade target for the Red Sox this winter. The southpaw made his first All-Star team this year as he logged 209 strikeouts in his debut season as a starter. And his current team is undergoing an extensive rebuild, putting him firmly on the trade block.
Pitching the kind of deal that can bring Crochet to Boston, Cody Williams of FanSided proposed the blockbuster trade package of Wilyer Abreu, Kutter Crawford, Franklin Arias and David Sandlin in a four-for-one swap.
"Where things get interesting for the Red Sox and still intriguing to the White Sox would be Wilyer Abreu and Kutter Crawford," Williams noted. "The latter is 28 years old but just made 33 starts for the Sox with a 4.36 ERA and 1.112 WHIP, so he could immediately slot into Chicago's rotation. ... Abreu, meanwhile, could be the piece to get this deal across the finish line."
While the Red Sox would be giving up two valuable contributors in Crawford and Abreu, this hypothetical package would allow the team to retain its "big four" prospect group of Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, Kristian Campbell and Kyle Teel. As a result, Boston's front office might feel like it is getting a critical win-now piece without leveraging the most promising aspects of the team's future.
"And in return, the Red Sox would get the ace that the team's starting rotation has lacked for some time amid Chris Sale's injuries and other mitigating factors by bringing in Crochet," Williams concluded. "Pair that with more spending, potentially more trades and the core already in place with the big four coming to the majors soon, and this would be about as ideal as it could get for Boston while also helping the White Sox further set up their rebuild with the right pieces."
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