Perhaps the biggest prize of the MLB offseason outside of Juan Soto is the Chicago White Sox young southpaw flamethrower, Garrett Crochet. Despite choosing not to part with the 25-year-old lefty at this year’s trade deadline, it’s been presented by almost every insider that it’s inevitable that the rebuilding franchise ships him off this winter. And Philadelphia Phillies fans have been salivating at that possibility.

To be clear, the Phillies and any potential trade suitor should be interested. While the body of work isn’t immense for Crochet, the upside and purse stuff are electric. Guys that can strike out 209 batters with a 1.068 WHIP over 146.0 innings don’t grow on trees — and that’s exactly what Crochet did on the Southside this past season.

Unfortunately for the City of Brotherly Love, however, they might not get the chance to imagine what his future with the Phillies could look like.

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Former MLB general manager and current analyst for The Athletic ($), Jim Bowden, recently broke down the offseason’s top trade targets with Crochet coming in at No. 2 behind Vladimir Guerrero Jr. However, the Phillies were left out among the top suitors that Bowden is hearing connected to Crochet:

“Every front office executive I’ve talked with believes Garrett Crochet will be traded before the end of this year, and they mention the Red Sox, Orioles and Dodgers as the most likely landing spots because all three have the young, everyday position players the White Sox want in return for the 25-year-old lefty, who has two more years of team control. Crochet finished last season with a 3.58 ERA and 209 strikeouts over 146 innings. He made his first of many All-Star teams as well.”

Upgrading from Taijuan Walker in the rotation is certainly one of the first points of order for Dave Dombrowski and the Phillies this winter. More importantly, it’s understandable why Crochet would be enticing. Cristopher Sanchez and Ranger Suarez are the only two members of last year’s rotation under 30 years old and the latter is a free agent after next season.

Thus, adding a 25-year-old with near limitless potential and who is already eyeing being locked up long-term upon a trade would be enticing for Philadelphia. So it’s certainly a gut-punch moment to not see them connected. To be sure, that doesn’t mean they’re completely out of the running but it does indicate they are not among the leaders to get a deal done with the White Sox.

But Phillies fans can take some solace knowing that Dombrowski is at the controls if they indeed aren’t going to land Crochet. Whether in Philadelphia or otherwise, he’s never been shy about spending or going all out to get deals he wants. So in the event that Crochet heads to Boston, Baltimore, LA or otherwise, the Phillies would surely make a run at one of the big arms in free agency like Corbin Burnes or someone of that ilk. Or perhaps they could take a swing in the NL East at trading for a Sandy Alcantara. The point being, they wouldn’t strike out completely, at least you’d think so.

As it pertains to Crochet, though, the general perception appears to be that the Phillies aren’t in among the leaders in the race to make the offseason’s biggest blockbuster trade. Things can change but Philadelphia will be playing from behind if that does happen.