Confusing report could derail Padres' hopes of trading for Garrett Crochet

For some time now, it has been clear that the San Diego Padres have had a laser-like focus in their pursuit of Garrett Crochet at the trade deadline. They have already had one offer for Crochet rebuffed by the White Sox and experts continue to predict that AJ Preller is going to be working tirelessly until the bitter end to try and trade for him.

However, a very interesting, and very confusing, wrinkle may have just been thrown into the Crochet sweepstakes.

According to Jon Heyman, the White Sox are planning to have Crochet maintain a normal starter workload the rest of the season, which is notable given Crochet's innings questions.

However, he also said that Crochet would "need extension" if he was traded in order to pitch in October.

Padres Rumors: Will Garrett Crochet need contract extension to pitch in October?

There are a couple of ways this could be read, so we do need to be careful in terms of jumping to conclusions. Heyman's phrasing is strange here, but there is an argument that he meant Crochet would need to have his innings managed in the second half if a potential trade partner wanted him to "extend" his ability to play into October. Given that the White Sox are on pace to be one of the worst teams in recent memory, they don't have to worry about dealing with that.

However, "extension" has a very specific connotation in sports and, assuming it was purposeful here, that introduces an entirely different dynamic with Crochet. The other reading of Heyman's tweet is that Crochet will not be willing to pitch into October without a contract extension. If that is true, it could torpedo a potential trade for him.

There is precedent for pitchers exercising control over their usage for financial reasons. The most famous case is Josh Hader, who refused to pitch more than an inning because the arbitration process valued him as a one-inning guy and that is what he was going to give if that was the case. Now that he got paid by the Astros, he has been willing to throw beyond that.

In Crochet's case, he may be wanting to protect his financial future in the event of a trade. He hasn't thrown this many innings before, and given that he is coming off an injury he may not be willing to pitch in the playoffs and risk anything unless he gets guaranteed money first. While that isn't the "nicest" way to start a tenure with a team, it is at least understandable.

However, the Padres' financial situation is pretty sketchy at the moment, and part of the allure of Crochet is that he is a really good pitcher currently under cheap team control. If that last part turns into "rather expensive team control" in order to have him available for a postseason run, that could make San Diego a lot less likely to pay a premium for him at the trade deadline.

All of this seems to be pointing towards a Crochet trade (to the Padres or anywhere else) happening next offseason instead of the deadline. Crochet will (hopefully) have a full season under his belt and less leverage in dictating terms. This may all be a misunderstanding, but San Diego may have to pivot elsewhere if Crochet is looking to get paid immediately after being traded.

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