The Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers, among other teams, were reportedly interested in signing Garrett Crochet at the deadline. In Philly’s case, they decided not to do anything for a very good reason – the White Sox’s asking price.
Chicago was interested in Andrew Painter, a young pitcher with ace potential. The Phillies’ starting lineup is loaded with talent, so they certainly don’t need to keep Painter, but they certainly wouldn’t send him to the South for a pitcher who might not be eligible for the postseason. Given Painter’s injury status, maybe Dave Dombrowski should have taken the White Sox seriously.
Painter still has a long way to go before he’s ready for the MLB, as he underwent Tommy John surgery this spring. There is hope that Painter will be ready for the 2025 season. He has barely pitched above Double-A and, if all goes well, probably won’t be called up to the major leagues until late next season. That’s a heck of a timeline and a lot of “what ifs.”
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Hoarding talent is common in MLB offices at the deadline. Even Dave Dombrowski is no exception. Painter could be an ace if he stays healthy, but Crochet already is. Not to mention, Crochet is under contract through the 2026 season. For a Phillies team that is on the winning side in every sense of the word, it’s odd that they didn’t accept Chicago’s offer, assuming the rest of the trade package wasn’t unreasonable.
Crochet will also be available this offseason. The Dodgers were among the interested parties the first time around and will call up Getz once their season ends in October. There is an arms race in the National League between the Dodgers, Phillies and Braves for most roster dominance.
Signing Crochet would have put more pressure on Los Angeles, who could win the championship despite their injury woes. As far as I know, Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman are still on the roster.
Painter is no more of a sure thing than any top-40 prospect in baseball. He could succeed, but few would have blamed the Phillies for trading an injury-plagued pitcher for an AL Cy Young candidate.
