DALLAS — Garrett Crochet stepped up and became the 2024 opening-day starter for the Chicago White Sox after the club traded Dylan Cease in March.
Someone else will earn that assignment in 2025 after the White Sox dealt Crochet to the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday for four minor-league prospects in catcher Kyle Teel, outfielder Braden Montgomery, infielder Chase Meidroth and right-handed pitcher Wikelman Gonzalez.
How will the Sox fill the opening in the rotation?
The group of returning starters includes Jonathan Cannon, Drew Thorpe, Davis Martin and Sean Burke.
Cannon, Thorpe and Burke each made their major-league debuts in 2024. So did Jairo Iriarte, who had six relief appearances.
“He’ll get a long look in spring training,” Sox general manager Chris Getz said of Iriarte on Wednesday at the MLB winter meetings.
Iriarte, who like Thorpe was part of the Cease trade, had a 1.50 ERA with six strikeouts for the Sox after posting a 3.71 ERA in 23 appearances (22 starts) for Double-A Birmingham.
“We’ll look to make some additions as well,” Getz said. “We have other arms in (someone like) Mason Adams, (who) will be in major-league camp. We think that we still have the depth in starter innings. With that being said, we are going to see if we can bring in some guys that can stabilize and protect those guys, too.”
Adams, a 13th-round draft pick in 2022, went a combined 7-5 with a 2.92 ERA and 110 strikeouts in 23 games (22 starts) for Birmingham and Triple-A Charlotte in 2024.
The Sox went the pitching route in Wednesday’s Rule 5 draft, selecting Shane Smith from the Milwaukee Brewers. The right-hander went a combined 6-3 with a 3.05 ERA and 113 strikeouts in 32 outings (16 starts) for Double-A Biloxi and Triple-A Nashville.
Smith, 24, is 13-7 with a 2.69 ERA and 203 strikeouts over three minor-league seasons.
“He’s got starting ability as well,” Getz said. “He’ll come into camp and compete for a spot. He’s got an ability to pitch in the bullpen as well.
“The Rule 5 gives you an opportunity to bring guys in and see if he can be a fit. It was a clear decision for us that he was the right guy. It was almost a consensus with our group, which isn’t always the case. But in this one, it was and just gave us more confidence to make the selection.”
Around the same time the Rule 5 draft began Wednesday, news broke of the Crochet trade. Part of the return sets up an interesting situation for the Sox behind the plate.
Teel, 22, was rated by MLB.com as the No. 4 prospect in the Red Sox organization, No. 25 in baseball and the No. 3 catcher.
He slashed .288/.386/.433 with 23 doubles, 13 home runs, 78 RBIs, 88 runs, 68 walks and 12 stolen bases in 112 games last season between Double-A Portland and Triple-A Worcester.
The left-handed hitter has a .301/.404/.444 career slash line with 29 doubles, 15 home runs, 100 RBIs, 103 runs, 89 walks and 15 stolen bases over parts of two minor-league seasons.
A first-round pick in 2023 (No. 14), Teel joins Edgar Quero and Korey Lee as catcher options.
Quero, ranked the No. 4 prospect in the organization by MLB.com, had a combined .280 average with 16 home runs and 70 RBIs in 98 games for Birmingham and Charlotte in 2024. Lee slashed .210/.244/.347 with 12 home runs and 37 RBIs as the primary catcher for the Sox in 2024.
“We feel like they can both be catchers for us at the major-league level,” Getz said of Teel and Quero. “You’ve got a switch-hitter in Edgar Quero, who’s really strong from the right side currently. And you’ve got Kyle Teel, who’s left-handed and has versatility in his background too. The catching position is just so valuable and it’s such a hard position to fill.
“To have two guys like that and a Korey Lee — going to the foundation of an organization, so many things start up the middle of the diamond, and it starts at the catching position and how much they can impact the game with game-planning and directing traffic on the field. So to have strength there is really important to us. We were able to accomplish that.”
Sox finalize Mike Tauchman deal
The Sox finalized a one-year, $1.95-million contract with the veteran outfielder on Wednesday.
The Palatine native has a career .241/.344/.374 slash line with 60 doubles, 32 home runs, 155 RBIs and 183 walks over parts of seven major-league seasons with the Colorado Rockies (2017-18), New York Yankees (2019-21), San Francisco Giants (2021) and Chicago Cubs (2023-24).
He ranks sixth in the majors since the start of the 2023 season with an average of one walk every 7.29 plate appearances (minimum of 750 plate appearances).
Reports of the signing first surfaced late Monday night.
