Pitching Pursuit: Batilmore Orioles Linked to Promising Starter in Trade Talks

While it has long been suspected, an MLB insider recently confirmed that the Baltimore Orioles are one of the top teams looking to trade for one of the best players on the market.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post released an updated list of the teams most interested in acquiring Chicago White Sox ace Garrett Crochet. The Orioles were the first of four teams named.

The Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies were also listed, but Heyman also suggested that other teams were making calls as well.

It looks as though the growing concern about Baltimore’s ability to keep up in a bidding war for one of the top free agents aces, such as Corbin Burnes or Blake Snell, will force them turn to their well of prospects and young stars to make a trade.

The White Sox are looking to get position players back for their ace and that just so happens to be the Orioles’ strength.

The top four players in the Baltimore farm system all have intriguing bats and should be considered on the line to be traded away for Crochet. While they wouldn’t need to get flip all of them, it would need to be some combination.

The Orioles would likely have to cope with giving up either Coby Mayo or Samuel Basallo, their two best prospects by far, in order to win the race.

Vance Honeycutt and Enrique Bradfield Jr. are easier to consider giving up, but are still exciting players in their own right.

The Red Sox, considered to be one of Baltimore’s top competition, also holds a lot of value with position players in their farm system.

The Orioles have tried their best to keep their prospects within their system, but having an immediate impact ace is a bigger priority with World Series aspirations already on their doorstep.

Crochet posted a 3.58 ERA last season with an elite 12.9 K/9. That is even after a dissapointing second half that was riddled with frustration around not being moved or given a new deal.

The hope in trading for him would be that putting him back in his starter with big innings role that he was in before Chicago desperately tried to keep him healthy will be enough to turn things back around into the great direction they were headed.

He still made his first career All-Star appearance and struck out a ton of batters all season. The 25-year-old does pretty much everything at an elite level, with his efforts led by an incredible high-90s fastball.