Red Sox Proрosed Bloсkbuster Lаnds All-Stаr Pіtсһer Wіtһout Losіng 'Bіg 4' Prosрeсt

If anyone is well-positioned to pull off a blockbuster trade this winter, it's the Boston Red Sox.

Portland Sea Dogs players (left to right) Kyle Teel, Marcelo Mayer and Roman Anthony pose for a picture prior to a game at Hadlock Field in Portland, Maine on Friday, May 10, 2024. WooSox Photo/Ashley Green / USA TODAY NETWORK

Boston not only has a logjam of young position players at the big-league level, but they have four highly-regarded prospects all nearing their big-league debuts. Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, Kyle Teel, and Kristian Campbell have become known as the "Big 4" around Red Sox Nation as they've skyrocketed through the minor leagues.

The Red Sox need an ace starting pitcher, and Garrett Crochet of the Chicago White Sox has been floated as a potential trade target all winter. Is it possible, though, that the Red Sox could land Crochet if they view their top farmhands as untouchable in trade talks?

Cody Williams of FanSided believes the Red Sox can land Crochet without touching any of the Big 4. Using the framework of the White Sox trade with the San Diego Padres for Dylan Cease, Williams proposed a deal that would send Crochet to Boston in exchange for outfielder Wilyer Abreu, starting pitcher Kutter Crawford, and top prospects Franklin Arias and David Sandlin.

"To pry Cease from the Southside, the Padres sent MLB Pipeline's then-No. 85 prospect Drew Thorpe along with the team's No. 7 prospect Samuel Zavala, the No. 8 prospect Jairo Iriarte and 29-year-old right-handed reliever Steven Wilson. The Sox can basically match that, or piece together perhaps an even better package, without considering moving Anthony, Mayer, Campbell or Teel," Williams said.

"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... (It's) about as ideal as it could get for Boston while also helping the White Sox further set up their rebuild with the right pieces."

While they wouldn't be giving up a huge prospect, this Boston package is still fairly hefty. Abreu and Crawford combined for 5.4 WAR this season, Arias is still a teenager and regarded as a Top 100 prospect nowadays, and Sandlin is the most promising fireballer the Red Sox currently have in their system.

Though the White Sox would still have to see what other offers were out there, this feels like a reasonable framework for a deal that could get done. But that's the thing about trades: not every reasonable proposal on paper gets accepted once the phone call is actually placed.