Seemingly every offseason, the Braves make a blockbuster trade. Three years ago, they acquired Matt Olson from the Athletics, and the very next year, Alex Anthopoulos went back to the talent pool in Oakland and swung a trade for Sean Murphy in a three-team deal. Last offseason, it was Chris Sale, who came over from Boston for infielder Vaughn Grissom.
The success of these three trades has varied, but Anthopoulos’ preference of how he likes to navigate the offseason has not. He’s never one to outbid teams for the top free agents. Instead, he doesn’t mind unloading his best prospects for young talent with multiple years of control that are willing to sign long-term extensions before hitting free agency. All three of Olson, Murphy, and Sale signed an extension before even playing a game for the Braves.
This offseason, the player that really fits that description is White Sox ace Garrett Crochet. He’s young, at just 25-years-old. He’s available, with the consensus around the league being that he will be traded before the start of the season. He comes with multiple years of team control with an extraordinarily palatable contract because he began his career as a relief pitcher, scheduled to make under $3 million next season. But perhaps most importantly, he’s eager to sign a long-term contract extension.
According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the Braves were interested in Garrett Crochet at this year’s trade deadline, and Olney expects that interest to continue this offseason.
“The Braves were involved in the Crochet trade talks in the summer, and it figures they will be again — at the very least, to push the Phillies, as they did in the Nola negotiations,” Olney writes.
Olney also notes the prospect cost will be significant. The Braves don’t have the deepest farm system, but they certainly have enough to pull off a trade of this magnitude if they don’t mind trading their top guys, which has never seemed to be an issue for Alex Anthopoulos since he’s taken over as general manager, especially for a talent like Garrett Crochet, who could potentially be in Atlanta for all of his prime years after signing an extension at a much more team-friendly rate than Max Fried if the Braves were to make a push for him in free agency.
“Crochet would be costly in prospects but not so in salary: He served as a reliever in the early years of his career when he wasn’t hurt, and made just $800,000 last year,” Olney writes. “He’s due for a hefty raise, but even a generous one would not be nearly as costly as signing someone like Burnes or Fried.”
The prospect haul it will likely cost to land Garrett Crochet may prove too rich for the Braves liking, who are finally starting to replenish their system after so many trades and graduations. However, what really makes him an intriguing trade target is the fact that he wants to sign a contract extension.
“Crochet, 25, wants a contract extension if he’s traded in order to pitch in the postseason this year, according to sources familiar with the situation,” Jesse Rogers writes for ESPN. “Crochet also is making it known he has no desire to pitch out of the bullpen, citing health concerns for all of the above requests.”
Depleting the farm system may not be worth it for two years of Garrett Crochet, but for six or seven? That might be enough to get Alex Anthopoulos to pull the trigger on yet another Braves blockbuster trade for the fourth off-season in a row.
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Photo: Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire
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