Garrett Crochet, for the first time since arriving in Boston, looks human. He’s given up 21 runs in 18 innings this month, including 15 over his past two starts combined. Understandably, the Red Sox have faltered during his skid, with an 8-9 record in April that has pushed them toward the bottom of the American League East.
Want to rub even more salt in the wound? One of the top prospects traded in that deal with the White Sox, Braden Montgomery, is the hottest player in the minor leagues right now.
Montgomery wasn’t the highest-profile prospect that the Red Sox sent to Chicago in that Crochet trade — that would be Kyle Teel, who hasn’t played yet this season due to a hamstring injury — but he’s continued to climb top 100 lists since then. In FanSided’s latest prospect rankings, the 23-year-old outfielder came in at No. 53 overall.
What a cursed start to the 2026 this has been in Boston.
— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) April 20, 2026
Red Sox will never regret Garrett Crochet trade, but they might start missing Braden Montgomery
Whether it’s an injury holding Crochet back or him being in a rare funk, odds are he’ll bounce back sooner or later. He’s on the short list of the best pitchers in MLB, and at 26 years old, he’s only just now entering his prime.
Still, it’s hard not to look over and feel a little envious about Montgomery’s breakout. The Red Sox’s first-round pick in 2024, he never actually played for the organization before getting traded. Instead, he debuted with the White Sox in 2025 and impressed, posting a 137 wRC+ while climbing all the way to Double-A.
He’s repeating that level right now, but probably not for long. Through 18 games, Montgomery is hitting .354/.446/.708 with four home runs and a .396 ISO (isolated power). His 193 wRC+ is among the best figures at any minor-league level this year.
For what it’s worth, his status as a corner outfielder would only have clogged up the Red Sox’s never-ending logjam even more, and we saw them trade away a player of a similar archetype this past offseason in Jhostynxon Garcia.
Perhaps this will evolve into the rare win-win trade for both Sox teams. Teel exploded onto the scene during his rookie season last year (125 wRC+), Chase Meidroth has been worth 1.7 fWAR in his first 140 MLB games, and Wikelman González is shredding Triple-A this year to the tune of a 2.38 ERA in 10 appearances out of the bullpen.
Assuming Crochet finds his footing again in the near future, it’s fair to say that both sides have to be feeling good about this trade more than one year later.
