White Sox GM addresses Garrett Crochet's reported contract demands

Chicago White Sox general manager Chris Getz knows he has quite a valuable trade chip on his hands in lefty pitcher Garrett Crochet.

With the trade deadline quickly approaching on Tuesday, Getz also knows that he has the future of Crochet's career in his hands, and that's a future that the pitcher's camp wants to strictly control if a trade to a contending team is to happen, a ccording to a report from ESPN's Jesse Rogers , who cited "sources familiar with the situation."

Crochet reportedly wants guarantees of a contract extension from his new team in order to pitch in the postseason in 2024. He also wants to strictly be a starter and work a starter's routine, as he has no desire to move to the bullpen.

"The communication had been very strong between Garrett and I and his agency," Getz said on Monday, per ESPN's Jesse Rogers . "I was a little surprised and taken aback by how they went about it, considering I had a conversation with his agent the night before. That's not exactly the tactic I would have taken, being a former player, just because the dialogue has been so honest and real and careful and mindful of his career. I was a little surprised by it. I was."

Getz was surprised, but he did say that he understands where his star pitcher is coming from. At 25 years old, Crochet is coming off Tommy John surgery he underwent in 2022. He's thrown a career-high 114 1/3 innings so far this season and he's arguably one of the best young pitchers in baseball.

If he's to be traded, he wants guarantees about his future. As it stands, he's making just $800,000 this season with no long-term guarantees.

"We understand why a stance would be taken like that," Getz explained. "How you go about expressing that, was a bit hurtful, quite honestly, considering we could have handled it a little bit differently and still accomplish what everyone wanted to accomplish."

The fact that Getz said the White Sox are hurt by the way this came about is interesting because as it stands, there is still a chance that they could be the ones signing Crochet.

“There’s a chance. He’s still with us right now," Getz said of the pitcher staying in Chicago, per MLB.com. "He’s a guy that is continuing to become one of the top arms in the game and we certainly value that. But it also goes back to what’s best for the long-term health of the White Sox, and so we are weighing all those types of things. Right now, we are just focused on making sound decisions.”