The Garrett Crochet sweepstakes wrapped up as the final day of the 2024 Winter Meetings came to a close. Several teams had shown interest in the emerging ace such as the Yankees, Mets, Phillies, and the Reds.
After proposing a hefty trade package, the Red Sox walked off with one of the most coveted players on the offseason trade market. Insider Bob Nightengale listed the finalists:
The final 5 finalists in the Garrett Crochet trade talks before the Chicago White Sox traded him:
Boston Red Sox: (who landed him)
Atlanta
New York Yankees
Cincinnati Reds
Philadelphia Phillies— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 12, 2024
One of the teams we heard very little about in this pursuit would be the Atlanta Braves. As a finalist for a potential ace, we can see Braves’ GM Alex Anthopoulos is serious in his pursuit of pitching despite maintaining a shallow farm system. Anthopoulos has also been adamant about keeping the payroll under the third luxury tax bracket. Any arm he seeks will likely need to be on the inexpensive side allowing for the Braves to make a splash to improve their lineup.
For this, he will likely need to search the trade market. Luckily, there are a few good arms readily available. Let’s give a few intriguing names a look.
According to Andrew Destin and Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Gazette, rising star Jared Jones was on the trade block and may still be. This past season in his debut year, Jones posted a 4.14 ERA with 132 strikeouts over 121.2 innings. But while his ERA isn’t that flashy, his talent is undeniable.
His heater averages 97.3 mph and he is able to generate plenty of whiffs, keeping hitters off balance with his three off-speed offerings. His 4-seamer and slider have been plus pitches while his changeup and curveball have not. Knowing how well the Braves can develop pitching, they can certainly work wonders with a budding star like Jones.
As a player who is yet to qualify for arbitration, he will be incredibly cheap monetarily. The Pirates, who lack both quality pitching and offense aside from Paul Skenes and Bryan Reynolds, may look to boost their depth significantly with major league-ready prospects, especially with the clock ticking on Skenes.
If traded for, Jones would make a great back-end of the rotation starter in the Braves star-studded rotation at the beginning of the 2025 season. However, before the year is done, he could prove himself capable of being a front-end starter flashing ace material reminiscent of the Reynaldo Lopez success story we witnessed last season. Having spent only one season in the majors, Jones could provide the Braves with plenty of upside for the foreseeable future.
2. Jeffrey Springs
The Tampa Bay Rays are going through a fire-sale of a rebuild and have already jettisoned several valuable names. Now, the Rays are looking to their deep well of top pitching talent to deal from. One name that is worth some intrigue is southpaw Jeffrey Springs. Unfortunately, we haven’t seen much of Springs over the past two years due to injuries.
In 2022, his first year as a starter, Springs posted a 2.46 ERA with 144 strikeouts through 135.1 innings. In 49 innings since the start of 2023, Springs threw to a 2.39 ERA. By all appearances, Springs has the makings of ace if he can stay healthy. This is despite the fact that his pitch mix doesn’t seem elite.
Springs throws a low-90’s four-seamer along with a changeup and slider both in the low to mid-80’s. He also began experimenting with a sweeper before falling on the IL in 2024. The bulk of his success comes from the deception on his off-speed offerings. His repertoire induces a high rate of chase and his four-seamer, which is his main pitch, doesn’t seem to hinder his success despite the noticeable lack of velocity.
Springs is signed through 2026 earning $10.5 million in each and comes with a $15 million club option for 2027. Springs would make an exceptional under-the radar pickup as a bounce-back candidate.
Dylan Cease only has one year left on his contract, but he is a great arm who will earn less than $15 million next season making him a perfect match for the Braves. Cease is quickly becoming one of the top rotational arms on the trade market after San Diego Padres President of Baseball Operations AJ Preller, signaled he was selling off valuable players.
Cease pitched to a 3.47 ERA last season with 224 strikeouts through 189.1 innings. While good, an ERA such as Cease’s isn’t head-turning and the ERA of 4.58 he put up in 2023 is very off-putting. But the main reason Cease is drawing such interest is because of his 2022 performance. That year, Cease finished as runner up in the AL Cy Young voting, putting up a magnificent 2.20 ERA even though he led the MLB in free passes with 78.
If the Braves can revive his 2022 performance, which seems possible given their coaching staff has done incredible things over the years, the Braves will have a championship caliber team. Cease is owed $13 million next season before becoming a free agent.
