A potential Blue Jays trade target that isn’t talked about enough

The Toronto Blue Jays recently revealed that starting pitching is one of their needs that they intend to address this offseason. Rumors have it that the Jays have expressed interest in former Atlanta Braves left-handed pitcher Max Fried as a potential big upgrade to their 2025 rotation, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

If Toronto is really serious about adding an elite southpaw to their starting five, there is an obvious candidate who has made the news all around the league and just hasn’t been talked about enough on the Jays’ front. That player is none other than Chicago White Sox pitcher Garrett Crochet.

Blue Jays should focus on a trade for White Sox starter Garrett Crochet

After spending all of his MLB career in a relief role prior to this past season, the White Sox had Crochet transition into a starter for 2024. That move turned out to pay huge dividends as he put together an All-Star season in which he posted a stellar 3.58 ERA and 1.07 WHIP over 32 starts.

What really stood out was his strikeout ability, whiffing 209 batters in just 146 innings of work. In addition, his walk rate, which had been a troubling issue for him in previous years, dropped significantly, showing promising signs of better control with his command. On top of that, his ERA against the American League in 2024 was a sparkling 3.18, which is exactly what the Jays need to survive the offensive juggernauts in their own league.

Despite all that, some might argue that a free agent option like Fried could be had without giving up any assets other than money. Whereas to trade for Crochet, the Jays would likely need the sacrifice of some valuable prospects to get it done.

However, just for comparison, although Fried posted a solid 2024 campaign with a 3.25 ERA and 1.16 WHIP with 166 strikeouts in 174 1/3 innings over 29 starts, his walk rate has actually been climbing in each of the past two seasons, from 4.4% to 5.8% to now 8% this past season. That could be alarming signs of his command becoming less consistent in recent years..

In addition, a lot of Fried's advanced stats have fallen from the 80+ percentile down closer to 50 and below in 2024, including his xBA, fastball velocity, chase rate, whiff rate and walk rate. Whereas Crochet is swamped with a sea of red with his advanced stats from his outstanding performance this year.

More importantly, Fried will be 31 by the time the 2025 season rolls around, whereas Crochet will just be heading into his prime at the young age of 25. Added to the fact that Crochet still has two years of control at an affordable salary, it just makes too much sense for the Jays to go for the one that has the greatest potential to help the team succeed.

To reel in someone who can be a real difference-maker for the club is a sacrifice Toronto should be willing to make.