With the calendar flipping to June, we're about to start hearing a lot more about potential trade candidates. Especially as teams decide that they're no longer in any kind of playoff race.
Which is why it's probably natural that the first marquee name floating on the market appears to be Chicago White Sox starter Garrett Crochet. In his first full season as a starter, Crochet has been very effective for an otherwise miserable Sox club. He's pitched to a 3.49 ERA (2.19 xERA), with a 33.7 percent strikeout rate.
There hadn't been any prior indication that Crochet might be available, though a club like the Sox is liable to at least listen on everyone. While Chicago will surely be sellers, a 24-year-old fireballer atop your rotation isn't easy to part with regardless of the circumstances.
Nevertheless, reports on Tuesday indicated that the San Diego Padres were showcasing a "strong interest" in acquiring the University of Tennessee product. It's a logical connection, as the Padres are currently without starting pitchers Joe Musgrove & Yu Darvish. Their depth otherwise is questionable, and the two teams have also already come together on a notable move this calendar year, with Dylan Cease heading to San Diego back in the spring.
With a division rival apparently in on Crochet, it certainly appears worth wondering if the Los Angeles Dodgers could find themselves involved in his market as well.
It's not as if the Dodgers are wanting for starting pitching. Their rotation features the league's sixth-best ERA (3.33) & fourth-best K% (24.0). And while it may be cliché to note that a team can never have too much starting pitching, LA's health throughout this season helps it to ring true.
Bobby Miller remains out with shoulder inflammation. Clayton Kershaw is still working his way back from offseason shoulder surgery. Walker Buehler is still not far removed from Tommy John. James Paxton has his own extensive history in that regard. Plus, given the Dodgers' history of aggression in markets such as this, you couldn't count them out even with five guaranteed healthy starters.
At the very least, one imagines that the Dodgers' involvement would help to drive the price up for a division rival, further depleting a farm system that San Diego president A.J. Preller has been willing to empty in pursuit of a title.
Of course, Crochet is just the first of many names we will likely hear about in the coming weeks. Regardless of this particular situation, their steadfast all-in mindset should have the Dodgers' name floated out there quite frequently throughout June & July.