The Boston Red Sox were finally able to light a spark in the offseason, and they used a familiar match to do it. In a throwback to the 2016 Chris Sale trade, the front office acquired another left-handed starting pitcher from the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday afternoon. Garrett Crochet is being charged with restoring the American League East squad to a contender, but attaining that type of potential does not come cheap.
Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow relinquished a hefty haul of young talent for the 2024 All-Star, which includes the No. 25 ranked prospect in MLB. Kyle Teel was tapped to be Boston’s catcher of the future, with his debut expected sometime in 2025, but he is now a core part of the White Sox’s long-term plans. Needless to say, he had to take a few minutes to process the huge news.
“I definitely didn’t see it coming at all,” Teel said, per Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. “Completely, completely surprised. The emotion I felt was surprise at first but then excited as it settled in. And ready to go.”
White Sox continue their march toward a hopeful future
The White Sox already have an acclaimed catcher in Edgar Quero (No. 59 MLB prospect), but Teel’s offensive upside warrants an MLB roster slot in the near future. He batted a hair under .300 while blasting 11 home runs and 60 RBIs in 84 games with the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs last season. While his numbers did dip in Triple-A (.255 batting average and two homers in 123 plate appearances), the talent is undeniable.
Chicago desperately hopes that Teel can realize his promise in the next few years. The 22-year-old headlines a Garrett Crochet trade package that features another first-round draft pick in former Texas A&M star outfielder Braden Montgomery. Opportunities should be plentiful on a team that lost an MLB-record 121 games in 2024.
The Red Sox escaped the AL East basement, but they still have change to affect. Both franchises are counting on the Crochet move to be the catalyst for a major turnaround. It will be extremely interesting to see how this deal looks when the ink dries in the history books.
