DALLAS – After the failed pursuit of Juan Soto, the baseball world waited for the Red Sox to finally make their first big move of the offseason. And on the final day of the Winter Meetings, Boston addressed a significant need by acquiring left-hander Garrett Crochet from the Chicago White Sox for a huge pool of prospects including catcher Kyle Teel, outfielder Braden Montgomery, infielder Chase Meidroth and right-handers. Hander Wikelman Gonzalez.

Crochet, 25, has been one of the biggest trading pieces on the market since the July close, and it’s easy to see why. The Red Sox’s new star thrived in his first full season as a starter in 2024 and quickly emerged as one of the game’s elite power arms, striking out 209 batters with a 3.58 ERA.

A look at Crochet’s underlying metrics shows just how impactful the southpaw is. He led the MLB last season with a 35% strikeout rate in just 146 innings, and after the Sox missed out on players like Max Fried, who agreed to an eight-year, $218 million deal with the Yankees on Tuesday, They can now go to the front starter from the list of off-season needs.

Since Craig Breslow took over as Boston’s chief baseball officer, pitching has clearly been a priority for the team as it looks to keep up with the loaded AL East. The addition of Crochet allows the Red Sox to move the rest of their rotation, with players like Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford and Bryan Bello following Crochet following the departure of Nick Pivetta in free agency.

Perhaps the biggest bonus for the Red Sox here is acquiring a front-line starter who will maintain control of the club for another two years, especially considering how expensive the market for starting pitching has become this winter. Boston could certainly extend Crochet and keep him in a Red Sox uniform for the foreseeable future.

Much like the division rival Yankees, Boston can now chart a new course for the remainder of this winter, with the next step likely to be a search for more offense. The Red Sox should be in the mix for free-agent additions like Anthony Santander, Teoscar Hernández and Alex Bregman, and adding someone like third baseman Nolan Arenado via trade would also help them improve their offense.

What to make of the White Sox’ return?

With one of the strongest farm systems in baseball and a desperate need for top pitching, the Red Sox were always going to be a sensible partner for Chicago in the search for a Crochet deal. Once it became clear that Crochet was available, it wasn’t hard to think of combinations of potential Red Sox players and/or young position players that could entice the White Sox to make the blockbuster deal they were seeking.

Which of Boston’s so-called “Big 4” candidates – outfielder Roman Anthony (MLB Pipeline’s No. 3 overall), shortstop Marcelo Mayer (No. 7 overall), catcher Kyle Teel (2023 first-round pick) and Kristian Campbell (the biggest potential breakthroughs in 2024) – would the White Sox take priority in a Crochet deal? Could Chicago have interest in young hitters we already have in the major leaguers like Wilyer Abreu or Triston Casas Or would the minor league players continue to be the focus?

Well, our imagination is no longer necessary. The requisite prospect package for Crochet was put together – and Boston paid a steep price indeed.

Teel is the headliner – and a fascinating one. The 14th overall pick in the 2023 draft, he combines rare athleticism for a catcher with exciting offensive upside. He improved at the plate each season during his three years at the University of Virginia and didn’t stop hitting once he hit pro ball, making it all the way to Triple-A by the end of 2024. His stats may never be particularly eye-catching , But the bar for catcher production at the plate is notoriously low — and Teel figures he’ll comfortably clear it. While his fantastic arm is his best defensive attribute, he continues to improve in other aspects of the position. This is one of the best catching opportunities in baseball.

Catcher is a crucial position for any franchise, and now Chicago has several promising candidates at the helm as Teel joins 21-year-old switch-hitter Edgar Quero – acquired from the Angels for Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez at the 2023 trade deadline – as another potential backstop of the future. Both players completed 2024 in Triple-A, so it will be interesting to see who gets promoted to the major leagues sooner and if either of them gets playing time at other positions to increase the likelihood of being promoted to the Major Leagues in the coming years could occupy the same squad for years.

Conversely, Teel’s departure raises some interesting questions about Boston’s future catching depth. Teel seemed primed to be the team’s backbone going forward, but now the line of succession behind Connor Wong is unclear. And Wong isn’t exactly sure about the future. While his surface numbers at the plate were solid in 2024, he performs poorly defensively overall, and his underlying offensive numbers indicate a far less potent bat. This is certainly a position Boston should keep an eye on.

Montgomery is arguably the co-headliner alongside Teel, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him emerge as Chicago’s top position player prospect next calendar year. He appeared to be a top-eight prospect in the 2024 draft as a switch hitter out of Texas A&M, but broke his ankle late in his junior season and ultimately fell to Boston at No. 12. He did not play After signing due to injury, his professional debut will now take place with a new organization. There are some questions about his overall hitting tools, but on paper Montgomery looks like a potential star right fielder. This move makes him one of the most interesting players in minor league baseball in 2025, as he will look to make a strong first impression on a team that certainly has very high expectations for him.

With so much infield depth in Boston’s upper levels, Meidroth’s remarkable rise to the top of the major leagues has been somewhat overlooked. I highlighted him as one of the more interesting prospects in the minors last summer due to his combination of defensive versatility and tremendous on-base ability, and now he’s joining a team that offers him significantly more opportunity to make an impact in the major leagues level in the near future. He still needs to work on lifting the ball more often, but the excellent plate discipline ability remains, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see Meidroth get significant playing time in Chicago in 2025.

In a bat-riddled Boston farm system, Gonzalez stood out for his upside on the mound, even if he raises significant questions. At about 6 feet tall and weighing 180 pounds, he doesn’t have the typical starter build of a workhorse, but he makes up for it with an incredibly lively arm and awesome raw stuff, including a mid-’90s radiator years and a plus curveball. His big break came in 2023, when his 35.2% strikeout rate led minor league pitchers with at least 100 innings, but his 14.7% walk rate was the 12th highest in the same sample. Command remains a struggle for Gonzalez, and he spent all of 2024 in Double-A but was unable to achieve that level of dominance before being limited to shorter stints. He’ll only be 23 next season and there are plenty of encouraging ingredients, but it remains unclear whether his future lies in the bullpen or the rotation.

Overall, Boston has to feel good about making this deal without trading a potential superstar in Anthony or one of the key players on the current major league roster. That’s a lot of talent to give up, but as the market dictates, starting pitching is expensive no matter how you acquire it, and Crochet was one of the best arms available.

For the White Sox, this deal, more than any other deal made during the complete roster dismantling of the last two years, has the potential to dramatically change the outlook for Chicago’s rebuild. Teel and Montgomery are the offensive building blocks this franchise desperately needs. But prospects are never guaranteed, and so, as with any trade of this kind, we will be years away from fully assessing its consequences.