MLB Trade Rumors: Padres Hot In Pursuit Of Another White Sox Pitcher

The San Diego Padres made a big splash before the season trading for sought-after starting pitcher Dylan Cease from the Chicago White Sox. It's been a rousing success thus far, and now the Padres are hoping to go back to the well and snag another key arm from the Pale Hose.

Baseball insider Ken Rosenthal is reporting in The Athletic that Garrett Crochet is "strongly" on the Padres' radar:

The Padres have recently shown strong interest in left-hander Garrett Crochet, according to sources briefed on the White Sox’s discussions. San Diego’s need for starting pitching grew last week when Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish landed on the injured list for the second time this season.

Crochet has started a league-leading 13 games this season, and has a major league-best 12 Ks per nine, with 93 strikeouts in 69 innings. He has posted a 3.49 ERA with a stunning 0.93 WHIP. Opposing batters are hitting just .194 off him.

The 25-year-old (as of later this month) still has two years of team control, though the White Sox won't be anywhere close to contention during that window, so a trade is a very real possibility. But the price will be high.

Per Rosenthal, "For the White Sox to trade Crochet, according to a person familiar with that team’s thinking, they likely would require at least one position player prospect with significant upside". He names catcher Ethan Salas and shortstop Leodalis De Vries as two Padres who fit that description, with the former being the No. 6 prospect in all of baseball. It's doubtful that the Friars will be trading either of those without a true star caliber player back in return.

Crochet, while having a great season, is largely unproven, as this is his first full year as a starter in the big leagues.

In addition to already trading for Cease (3.42 ERA, 11 K/9), the Padres also struck gold on an aggressive trade to acquire two-time batting champ Luis Arraez last month from the Miami Marlins, and all he's done is hit .391 in his 110 at-bats in San Diego.

GM A.J. Preller will be out to try for the successful trade trifecta in his pursuit of Crochet.