GLENDALE, Ariz. — Garrett Crochet wants to be a starter and feels suited to be a starter. The White Sox’ investment in him was a first-round pick, so why shouldn’t they try to see if it can happen?
The sooner, the better for a rotation with 14 possibilities on the spring-training chalkboard, as manager Pedro Grifol said a day before pitchers and catchers officially report to Camelback Ranch.
Grifol already has named Dylan Cease to start on Opening Day — that is, if he’s not traded by then — and on Tuesday as he talked about the 2024 rotation mentioned only Erick Fedde and Michael Soroka as he talked about the rotation and other subjects outside the Sox’ clubhouse on a cool, sun-drenched day in Arizona.
Fedde signed a two-year, $15 million contract after dominating the Korean League last year and Soroka, a Braves All-Star and Rookie of the Year runner-up in 2019, is coming off two Achilles injuries. After that, it’s a host of others, including free agent Chris Flexen and holdovers Michael Kopech and Touki Toussaint.
And Crochet, the 6-6 left-hander who showcased 100-mph heat his rookie season in 2020 and other glimpses of dominance before dealing with Tommy John surgery and shoulder soreness.
“I’m ecstatic,” Crochet said Tuesday. “It’s not like I expect to be given anything. I just want a chance to fight for a spot and earn it and at the end of spring training, reevaluate.”
If that means tweaking a plan for getting Crochet ready to be a five-inning pitcher, so be it. If it means going to the bullpen and gaining starter-strength from there, Crochet will have an open mind.
“He is going to be built up to try to win a spot. And we’ll see where it ends up,” Grifol said.
Starting in the rotation from the Camelback gate in April seems a stretch for one who hasn’t been stretched out yet as a professional, but Crochet could be on his way to nailing down a spot by then.
The way Grifol sees it, the more competition the better. While no one after Cease profiles as anything more than a back-end starter, there’s no harm in having numbers and creating space for someone to emerge.
“That’s what I’m talking about,” Grifol said. “Competition. Go out there and compete. Spring training used to be, come and get yourself in shape, and our team’s almost set. If you’re not in shape right now, you’re probably going to have a hard time being one of those guys going with us to Chicago. A lot of spots are open on that pitching staff.”
Due to shoulder soreness, Crochet pitched only 12 2/3 innings last season after missing all of 2022 recovering from Tommy John surgery. He had a 2.82 ERA while averaging 10.8 strikeouts per nine innings over 54 games in relief in 2021.
Crochet made “a little bit of a mechanical overhaul this offseason, nothing crazy, to make sure the [mid-to-upper 90s mph] velocity isn’t as forced as it maybe was when I came back from Tommy John,” he said.
“A big thing in the recovery for me was learning to throw hard often again without putting too much strain on my body, along with developing the changeup further,” he said. “Working on other stuff that I hope to showcase this spring.”
Crochet said when he pitched in relief he felt like he had more in the tank to give.
“I feel like [starting is] the most value I can bring to the team. That’s kind of the prized pony of Major League Baseball. Everybody wants to be able to start, not everyone can do it. I have a lot of self-belief I can do it, so I wanted a chance to prove that.”
And for that, Crochet has some bounce in his step.
“The past two springs, there was no chance of me breaking with the team,” he said “Having the ability to compete for a spot on the 26-man [roster], especially with so much competition this spring, it’s going to be really good for our ballclub. We are going to rally behind one another and push everyone to be the best.”
