The Philadelphia Phillies almost have a perfect starting rotation. Can they fill in one more slot?

Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sánchez, and Ranger Suárez were All-Stars this season, and Aaron Nola was his typical reliable self. But when the fifth starter took the hill for the Phillies this season, you could practically add a digit to the loss column before the game began.

Taijuan Walker is a likely trade or cut candidate for the Phillies this winter, and that should leave his slot in the rotation wide open. The Phillies could sign someone in free agency, of course, but perhaps the most impactful way to fill that opening is with a blockbuster trade.

Garrett Crochet of the Chicago White Sox, a first-time All-Star in 2024, is the biggest name known to be available on the trade market. Crochet is demanding an extension from any team that trades for him, which Spotrac’s market value tool projects at six years, $130 million.

Recently, Jon Heyman of the New York Post linked the Phillies to Crochet, saying Philadelphia had shown meaningful interest in trading for the lefty flamethrower.

“White Sox star starting pitcher Garrett Crochet is drawing big interest from the Orioles, Red Sox, Dodgers and Phillies, among others,” Heyman said. “While it’s a year later, his value is actually up thanks to the innings issue going away.”

Crochet threw 146 innings in 2024, which was almost three times what he’d thrown in any other big-league season, and that was in spite of the White Sox limiting to four innings or less in all of his starts post-All-Star break.

In those innings, Crochet racked up a whopping 209 strikeouts, only 19 less than the MLB leader, Tarik Skubal. He also had an impressive 3.58 ERA/2.69 FIP, and racked up 4.1 bWAR.

Bringing in Crochet would be an impressive coup for the Phillies, putting them among the short list of World Series favorites once more. If they can lock him in on the extension he wants, they’ll be set up to contend for many more years to come.