The deal is on: White Sox send Crochet to Boston for four minor-league prospects

The White Sox flipping a star pitcher for prospects has practically become an annual event.

The Sox agreed to send pitcher Garrett Crochet to the Boston Red Sox for four minor-leaguers. Last year, it was Dylan Cease auctioned off for prospects, Chris Sale a few years before that.

A Crochet trade was widely expected, with the White Sox hoping to take advantage of pitching depth within the organization to land some position players.

In a separate move, the White Sox officially announced the signing of former Cubs outfielder Mike Tauchman. The Palatine native landed a one-year deal worth $1.95 million to stay in his hometown.

Crochet, a 6-foot-6 lefthander, flipped from reliever to starter last season and delivered excellent numbers, even while the White Sox set a major-league record with 121 losses. Crochet went 6-12 with a 3.58 ERA and 209 strikeouts in 146 innings.

Here's a look at the players the Sox will get in return:

· Catcher Kyle Teel is rated Boston's No. 4 prospect and No. 25 overall by MLB Pipeline. Teel, 22, was a first-round pick (No. 14 overall) in 2023 out of Virginia. He posted an .852 OPS in Double-A last season, then played 28 games in Triple-A with a .717 OPS.

Teel's caught-stealing percentage in the minors is 22%, which isn't bad but is not spectacular. He's close to being ready for the majors, but it might not happen right away.

· Outfielder Braden Montgomery was the 12th overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft and has yet to play in the minors because of a broken ankle suffered in last year's NCAA Tournament. This addition will likely create some confusion, since the White Sox' current top position prospect is shortstop Colson Montgomery.

Braden Montgomery, a switch-hitter, grew up in Mississippi, started college at Stanford, then transferred to Texas A&M. Last year at A&M, Montgomery hit .322 with 27 home runs and also did some pitching in college. He's ranked as Boston's No. 5 prospect and No. 54 overall.

· Shortstop Chase Meidroth is Boston's No. 8 prospect. A fourth-round pick in 2022 out of University of San Diego, he spent all of last season in Triple-A, posting an .838 OPS while collecting more walks than strikeouts.

· Right-handed pitcher Wikelman Gonzalez is a Venezuela native, ranked as Boston's No. 14 prospect. He's been primarily a starter in the Red Sox system since 2019, playing last year in Double-A with a 4.73 ERA and 9.9 strikeouts per nine innings.

Next up for the White Sox will be deciding whether to trade center fielder Luis Robert Jr. during the winter or waiting to see if he can maybe improve his trade value in 2025 after a disappointing 2024 campaign.

Either way, there should be plenty of opportunity for Tauchman. The White Sox non-tendered Gavin Sheets, who led the team in right field starts this year with just 43. Next on the list was Dominic Fletcher.

The White Sox feel starting pitching is the strength of the organization. They have MLB's two highest-ranked left-handed prospects in Oswego native Noah Schultz and 2024 first-round pick Hagen Smith, plus right-handers Drew Thorpe and Jonathan Cannon already in the majors.