Report: White Sox interested in Abreu as hook trade headliner originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Acquiring an ace should be the top priority for the Boston Red Sox this offseason. They can achieve this by spending a lot of money on one of the top free agent startersor they could find a business partner.
Chicago White Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet is currently the most sought-after pitcher on the trade market. A number of teams have reportedly expressed interest in the 25-year-old All-Star, including Boston. Sean McAdam of MassLive.com recently reported on the Red Sox are “right in the heart” of the Crochet competition.
McAdam shared more information about the Crochet trade talks during an appearance on the “Foul Territory” podcast. He identified outfielder Wilyer Abreu as a player Chicago would be interested in as a key returnee in a deal.
“I would say Abreu could be made available in the right deal for a front-line starter like Crochet,” he said. “In fact, I was told the White Sox were interested in Abreu and would be happy to have him headlining – obviously they wouldn’t be the only one in the deal. They would have to invest a lot more than that, including a pretty good prospect to go with it, but Abreu is someone on the White Sox’s radar.
The Red Sox, as McAdam notes, are in a bind in the outfield. They also have a left-handed heavy roster, so as a left-handed outfielder, Abreu is one of their most sensible trade chips in a potential deal to start pitching.
“It’s not like the Red Sox are trying to unload him. But again, they have some redundancy here where they could move Abreu and make room and have an outfield that included (Jarren) Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela, maybe Kristian Campbell who played the outfield, and definitely Roman Anthony,” McAdam added.
“So they’re in a position where they’ve stockpiled all this inventory of intriguing young guys, whether they’re top prospects in Baseball America or guys with very little service time who would be attractive to a team like White Sox in the middle of the season a rebuild.”
Parting ways with Abreu would hurt him. The 25-year-old is coming off an impressive rookie year in which he notched 15 home runs and a .781 OPS in 132 games. He also won the Gold Glove award in right field.
But with pitching being such a dire need and Hook having serious upside, the Red Sox would be foolish not to consider the trade. Crochet posted a 3.58 ERA and 1.07 WHIP with 209 strikeouts and just 33 walks in 32 starts last season. The White Sox lightened his workload in the second half of their dreadful 2024 campaign, so he finished with just 146 innings pitched.
As for which prospects should be included in such a trade, it’s unclear whether Boston should include one of its “Big 4” of Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, Kristian Campbell and Kyle Teel. If so, it could be a deal breaker for a club that has touted its top prospects as the key to the organization’s future success.
