When Garrett Crochet's camp demanded an extension upon any deal in order to protect against unplanned/improvised usage deep into October at last year's trade deadline, it might've complicated attempts to deal him right then and there.
The plus side was that it signaled a willingness from his camp to discuss an extension well before Crochet hit free agency, which could hold extra appeal to the right team as long as the left-hander stayed healthy until the next right time.
The Red Sox were that right team, and the winter meetings were the right time. They paid the commensurate price in Dallas, and then they signed Crochet to a six-year, $170 million contract extension that was made official on Tuesday.
On its face, that sounds steep for a guy with one healthy season as a starter under his belt, and a carefully managed one at that. Red Sox GM Craig Breslow admitted the risk, but the appeal is that Crochet is just 25 years old. Carlos Rodón, another lefty with a spotty record of durability, signed for nearly identical terms with the Yankees (six years, $162 million) two years ago, when he was 30. It's not a bargain, but it is an opportunity to get Cy Young-caliber production in a pitcher's prime for below market rates.
ZiPS basically projected the same contract value, for what it's worth, and a healthier White Sox franchise would've been able to consider paying that price itself. At least Kyle Teel is off to a strong start in justifying his lead position in the return for Crochet's services, but it's something to keep in mind should they find themselves in a similar position with Noah Schultz, Hagen Smith or whoever else is the next homegrown success story. Ideally, the White Sox will be entertaining winning records by then.
Spare Parts
After an offseason full of speculation -- the Cubs? relief work? Mexican League? -- Lance Lynn called it a career on his wife's podcast, finishing 13 seasons with a 143-99 record and a 3.74 ERA. He was a two-time All-Star and garnered Cy Young support in three seasons, including a third-place finish for the White Sox in 2021.
He's another guy about whom you can say "as he went, so went the White Sox," whether judging him by his performance over his three years in Chicago, or the way veteran players disengaged with the team as soon as it hit the iceberg.
Speaking of announcements via modern channels, Zack Burdi also decided to hang up his spikes. The White Sox imagined more than an 8.44 ERA over 18 MLB games when they used the 26th-overall pick on him in the 2016 draft, but he had Tommy John surgery the following year and never got back to his Louisville form.
The Braves are 0-6, Reynaldo López is undergoing arthroscopic surgery for his right shoulder inflammation and Jurickson Profar was suspended for 80 games after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance.
I'm not Gen X -- elder millennial, thank you -- but having worked at a newspaper before the Great Recession, I was briefly exposed to the secure splendor of what journalism careers used to be, and then watched as everybody tried to hang on. I am acutely aware that audiences might eventually see cheap social media heat and generative AI slop as good enough and we succumb to the same forces, but I'm appreciative of every year that White Sox fans invest in handstaking, pain-crafted coverage.
