Considering Tommy John surgery looked likely for Garrett Crochet when he walked off the mound during Game 3 of the Wild Card Series against Oakland in the 2020 postseason, you might consider him fortunate that he managed to avoid any arm troubles of note during the entirety of the 2021 season.
Alas, that's cold comfort right now, because it appears that Crochet won't be able to stave off the procedure this time.
Crochet left the mound in the eighth inning of Thursday night's game against the Reds with an apparent arm injury, and Rick Hahn confirmed the direction this is all headed. He said the preliminary MRI reading showed damage to Crochet's ulnar collateral ligament. Crochet will seek a second opinion before choosing a course, but it doesn't sound good.
The White Sox bullpen is deep, but a lot of that talent is on the right side, even after the Sox dealt Craig Kimbrel to the Dodgers. The Sox had the luxury of Aaron Bummer relegating Crochet to second-lefty status, but the candidates backing them up on the 40-man roster are both unproven. Bennett Sousa looks like the natural candidate if the Sox want a second lefty, as he's having a terrific spring after gradual, impressive improvement in the minors.
However, should the Sox not care so much about handedness, they would have the ability to open a roster spot for a non-roster pitcher once Crochet moves to the 60-day injured list. That puts somebody like Kyle Crick in play, although given the first month's roster expansion, this could be an argument for both, rather than or the other, and the Sox will figure out who's a better candidate for the second month of the season after April is over.
The White Sox salvaged some of the news cycle on the pitching front by avoiding a contentious arbitration hearing with Lucas Giolito. The two sides managed to bridge a measly $200,000 gap, with the White Sox settling closer to Giolito's $7.5 million request at $7.45 million.
It's a little funny that the gap ended up being $50,000, because that's what Giolito's camp said the divide was while they were talking. When it came time to file numbers, the disparity expanded slightly.
With Giolito in the fold, the White Sox are under terms with all players. As for the ones eligible for arbitration, here's how they fared against their MLB Trade Rumors projections.
| Player | Projected | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| Lucas Giolito | $7.9M | $7.45M |
| Reynaldo López | $2.8M | $2.625M |
| Adam Engel | $2.2M | $2M |
| Total | $12.9M | $12.075M |
