Garrett Crochet is coming to Chicago, but he's coming at a cost.
The White Sox have called up this year's first-round pick to join the bullpen with his high-90s fastball/slider combo, and other circumstances, it'd feel like the White Sox were deploying all hands on deck for the postseason push.
Crochet is replacing a hand, though, not adding one. The White Sox made room for him on the 40-man roster by designating Ian Hamilton for assignment, which makes sense, but they opened a spot for him on the 28-man roster by moving Evan Marshall to the injured list with right shoulder inflammation, which could hurt.
When combining run prevention, peripherals and leverage, Marshall has been the White Sox's best or second-best reliever all season, with a 2.49 ERA and 29 strikeouts to seven walks and a homer over 21⅔ innings. He was conspicuously absent during Thursday's win over Minnesota, as Rick Renteria used Codi Heuer and Alex Colomé to cover the last three innings between them, rather than deploying Marshall for his customary eighth-inning assignment. He hadn't pitched since Monday, when he stranded the bases loaded of inherited runners in the sixth and pitched a perfect seventh.
Rick Hahn said that he expected Marshall to return for the final series of the regular season against the Cubs, so hopefully the White Sox are codifying some rest for a guy who just isn't 100 percent, an opportunity clinching provides. Reynaldo López came back from his shoulder inflammation missing a couple ticks, so my guard is a little elevated on Marshall's post-return state.
The White Sox aren't short on right-handed relievers, but the ones asked to step up don't have a whole lot of experience. Heuer's slider has sharpened in recent outings to the point that it doesn't seem irresponsible to throw higher leverage his way, whereas Matt Foster has allowed nine baserunners over his six September outings. Heuer's the guy, at least to my eye.
Crochet is not a righty, but it's possible that he could take medium-leverage innings that Heuer vacates in such a scenario, which would also free up Jace Fry for more specific lefty situations. Crochet also stands a chance of being a high-leverage LOOGY candidate, if that one out is the last one of an inning.
It makes sense to see what his stuff looks like in the context of some major-league games before grander plans are established. Considering Crochet threw one game at Tennessee and has spent his post-draft days in Schaumburg, he might look utterly undercooked, and it's better to learn that earlier than later. Still, as long as Aaron Bummer is an uncertainty, it makes sense to have an overpowering arm eligible for postseason use, especially if it's effective enough in short stints.
As for Hamilton, he hasn't been the same since a run of Frank Grimes-luck befell him last season. His 2019 started with a car accident at the start of spring training, and it ended with facial fractures from a line drive in the dugout at Charlotte. He's one of the guys who could have used a full and proper minor-league season to try getting back on track. I suppose that extends his bad luck, but this instance is not specific to him.
(Photo by John Korduner/Icon Sportswire)
