Trade Tsunami: Mets Target Top Pitcher With Cy Young Potential
The New York Mets are expected to be major players in the free agency market; especially in the starting pitcher department after their three most consistent starters in 2024 (Luis Severino, Sean Manaea, and Jose Quintana) are entering free agency.
However, the Mets aren’t confined to improving their pitching staff via free agency. They could also execute a trade this offseason that brings a top-tier hurler to Queens. And a November 3 article from Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller produced a potential trade scenario where the Mets could land Chicago White Sox ace Garrett Crochet this winter.
“Hypothetical Trade: New York sends SS/OF Jett Williams, RHP Nolan McLean and RHP Jonah Tong to Chicago White Sox for LHP Garrett Crochet,” Miller wrote.
“If they don’t land Juan Soto, [the Mets] have more than enough room in their seemingly limitless budget to go get one (or several) of the best free-agent pitchers available,” he added. “But they don’t need to spend their way to a good rotation. They could leverage a few of their top prospects to add a seven-figure ace instead of a nine-figure one.
“2022 first-round pick Jett Williams would be the main attraction going the other way in this one. A four-month recovery from wrist surgery paused his meteoric rise to the big leagues, but the still-not-quite 21-year-old made it back and had a six-game cup of coffee at the Triple-A level in late September, posting a 1.079 OPS there. He could be ready for Opening Day in 2025, but he probably needs to go to a team that doesn’t already have Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo for that to happen,” Miller concluded.
Crochet produced a 3.58 ERA and a whopping 209 strikeouts in 146 innings thrown during the 2024 regular season.
The Mets parting ways with Williams (their No. 2 overall prospect), McLean (their No. 9 overall prospect), and Tong (their No. 10 overall prospect) would be a brutal blow. But their run to the NLCS this season shows New York is ready to compete for a World Series next season — and adding Crochet to their rotation would be a great step toward doing so.
