Kyle Tucker to Cubs, Garrett Crochet to Red Sox Voted Best Trades by MLB Insiders

The two biggest trades of the MLB offseason were also voted as the best trades by a panel of league insiders.

In a survey of 32 current and former executives, scouts and coaches conducted by The Athletic's Jayson Stark, Kyle Tucker going to the Chicago Cubs was deemed the best trade, followed closely by Garrett Crochet to the Boston Red Sox.

The Tucker trade received 11 votes, one more than the Crochet deal. In a rare piece of good news for the Chicago White Sox, the third-place finisher was people who "loved both ends of the Crochet trade" with seven votes.

Since Tucker is entering his final year of arbitration before hitting free agency next offseason, the price Chicago paid to get him from the Houston Astros wasn't especially exorbitant.

The Cubs sent Isaac Paredes, Hayden Wesneski and Cam Smith to Houston in exchange for the three-time All-Star. Smith is MLB.com's No. 59 prospect going into the 2025 season, but only giving up one top-level minor leaguer for a player of Tucker's caliber seems like a small price to pay.

"I think sometimes you can measure trades real simply: Who got the best player? So who was the best player traded? It was Kyle Tucker, hands down," one insider told Stark.

The Crochet deal is one that will almost certainly benefit both teams involved. Boston is clearly trying to get back into the mix in the AL East after acquiring a frontline starter, then following it up by making a late free-agent addition by agreeing to a three-year, $120 million deal with Alex Bregman to bolster the lineup.

Given how far away from anything resembling contender status the White Sox are, their biggest priority this offseason was to find a trade that maximized Crochet's value. They wound up getting four prospects in return, led by catcher Kyle Teel and outfielder Braden Montgomery.

They also received Chase Meidroth and Wikelman Gonzalez from Boston.

Teel and Montgomery both rank in the top 55 of MLB.com's prospect list. Teel should make the most immediate impact after finishing last season in Triple-A. Montgomery was the No. 12 pick in the 2024 draft after hitting 27 homers last season at Texas A&M.

One voter who praised the deal for both sides explained their thought process to Stark:

"I think Teel is going to be like a Jason Kendall-type catcher—a better thrower than Kendall but that type of offensive player and a really good defensive guy. I like Meidroth, too. I think he’s going to be a real good contributing player. I love the outfielder, Montgomery. So I thought the White Sox really did a nice job, for where they’re going and what they were trying to get rid of.

"And I thought the Red Sox got a guy who can add to what they’re trying to build in the rotation. So I thought it was a good trade for both teams. I thought they both helped themselves."

The Athletic's Keith Law has the White Sox farm system ranked as the 12th-best in MLB going into 2025, though he did note it's very top heavy right now with a significant drop after their top six players.

Other trades that received votes included Devin Williams going to the New York Yankees, Jesús Luzardo going to the Philadelphia Phillies, Cody Bellinger to the Yankees and two votes from people who loved both ends of the Tucker deal.