All the smoke, which rose and rose for months, surrounding a Garrett Crochet trade finally materialized into fire on Wednesday. The White Sox sent him away. Not to Philadelphia. To Boston.
It wasn’t for lack of effort on the Phillies’ part, at least if you date back to the summer. That’s when the Phillies were most aggressive in their pursuit of the All-Star southpaw — and when, according to The Athletic’s Matt Gelb, the team offered prized prospect Aidan Miller in a return package for Crochet that also included Justin Crawford along with lower-level prospects.
It’s the type of aggressive offer president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has made a career of, even though it bore no fruit this time around. Miller is Phillies Nation’s No. 2 prospect in the organization, Crawford No. 6.
The White Sox, obviously, refused — because they were thinking even higher. Chicago wanted Andrew Painter, but the Phillies would not include the pitcher who, per Gelb’s reporting, is “considered the lone untouchable in the organization.”
If Miller is not untouchable, he seemed to be the next-closest thing. Perhaps he still is. It would’ve taken a rare, controllable talent like Crochet for the Phillies to part with Miller and Crawford, and only even under certain circumstances: Gelb reports that the club never offered the two together this offseason, with one fewer postseason run remaining before Crochet’s team control expires after 2026.
