GRADING A 3-TEAM TRADE INVOLVING BOTH LUIS ROBERT JR. AND GARRETT CROCHET

The New York Yankees are tied for first place in the AL East despite a troubling slide over the last couple weeks. There are real needs for Brian Cashman and the front office to address ahead of the July 30 trade deadline, but at the same time, New York is undoubtedly on the shortlist of viable MLB contenders.

Aaron Judge and Juan Soto are quite possibly 1-2 in the AL MVP race right now. The Yankees' primary weakness lies with the pitching staff. There is a chorus of fans calling for an upgrade to the starting rotation prior to the deadline. Others would prefer the Yankees to improve their bullpen depth.

Or, ideally, New York can check both boxes.

A new three-team trade proposal from Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller, however, as New York going in an entirely different direction. Instead, in this hypothetical, the Yankees triple down on a strength and add more power to the outfield depth chart.

Meanwhile, the Chicago White Sox expedite their teardown and the Milwaukee Brewers boost their rotation with a talented young arm. This trade is a real doozy.

White Sox-Yankees-Brewers trade to land Luis Robert Jr. in New York, Garrett Crochet in Milwaukee

• White Sox receive: OF Jasson Domínguez (NYY No. 1 prospect), C Jeferson Quero (MIL No. 2 prospect), IF Tyler Black (MIL No. 3 prospect), RHP Chase Hampton (NYY No. 4 prospect), SS Cooper Pratt (MIL No. 9 prospect), LHP Brock Selvidge (NYY No. 10 prospect)
• Yankees receive: OF Luis Robert Jr. (from CHW), LHP Hoby Milner (from MIL)
• Brewers receive: LHP Garrett Crochet (from CHW), OF Alex Verdugo (from NYY)

At the very least, this trade covers all the bases. New York adds star-power in classic New York fashion. The Brewers extend their dominance over the NL Central with a major upgrade to the starting rotation. And, for the White Sox, this is a great reset for their farm system. Both the Yankees and Brewers part with elite prospects in favor of immediate improvement. A classic example of teams operating on different timelines.

Just look at the volume of prospects Chicago gets back here. Robert and Crochet are both excellent players on friendly contracts, in the prime of their careers. Both should fetch a steep price. But to receive New York's Nos. 1, 4, and 10 prospects, as well as Milwaukee's Nos. 2, 3 and 9 prospects, feels like a coup. That is a whole new wave of young talent to build the future of White Sox baseball around.

The Yankees supercharge the outfield with Luis Robert Jr., who finished 12th in AL MVP voting last season. It hasn't been the most dominant 2024 campaign from Robert, who dealt with a hip injury in April, but he's 26 years old with tier-one athleticism and a ton of power behind his swing. It's only a matter of time until his production comes around. Ideally, that would coincide with a deep Yankees postseason run.

New York trades away a struggling Alex Verdugo, who arrived via offseason trade, to make room for Robert in centerfield. He would share that greenspace with Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, which is just a comically loaded trio. That would also represent the heart of a potent New York lineup, with Robert tasked with picking up the slack from a struggling Gleyber Torres and an injured Anthony Rizzo.

The Brewers add one of baseball's brightest young arms in 25-year-old Garrett Crochet, who has posted a 3.02 ERA and 0.982 WHIP through 18 starts (101.1 innings pitched) for the White Sox. It's hard to anchor the rotation for a persistent loser, but Crochet leads the American League in strikeouts (141) and is tied for the most starts. He has carried a sizable workload despite previous inexperience, dispelling concerns about his ability to hold down a rotation spot for a more serious ball club.

Milwaukee is frontrunning in the NL Central right now. The Brewers are still a bit vulnerable on the mound, however, following Corbin Burnes' high-profile offseason departure. Crochet would arrive with multiple years of affordable team control over his contract and an opportunity to feast on weak National League offenses. Buying low on Verdugo is gravy.

All in all, this trade has legitimate win-win-win potential. The White Sox get an appropriate asset haul for their best trade assets. The Yankees elevate their offense and form a ridiculous outfield 'Big Three,' while the Brewers get one of the most dominant starting pitchers on the market.

White Sox grade: A

Yankees grade: B

Brewers grade: B+

This article was originally published on fansided.com as Grading a 3-team trade involving both Luis Robert Jr. and Garrett Crochet.

2024-07-03T01:57:16Z dg43tfdfdgfd