DALLAS — The Boston Red Sox have landed their ace.

Boston made a big splash on the final day of the winter meetings, finalizing a trade to acquire star left-hander Garrett Crochet from the Chicago White Sox for a massive haul of four prospects – catcher Kyle Teel, outfielder Braden Montgomery, infielder Chase Meidroth and pitcher Wikelman Gonzalez.

The deal is by far the most aggressive move of Craig Breslow’s tenure as chief baseball officer with the Red Sox and marks an opening salvo in what the club has promised to be an aggressive winter while filling its most pressing need.

For the second time in eight years, the Red Sox turned to the North Side to get a lefty ace. In December 2016, it was Chris Sale who came to Boston for a prospect haul.

Crochet, 25, had a breakout season for the historically bad White Sox in 2024, posting a 3.58 ERA while striking out 209 batters in 146 innings over 32 starts. He was an All-Star and led pitchers making at least 30 starts in strikeout rate (35.1%) and strikeouts per nine innings (12.88) while finishing second in FIP (2.69). The former 11th overall pick quickly became one of the best starters in baseball after beginning his career as a dominant reliever. He is under contract for two more years, but the Red Sox could pursue an extension with him soon.

Crochet will assume front-man status in a rotation that’s expected to include Tanner Houck, Lucas Giolito, Kutter Crawford and Brayan Bello, with Cooper Criswell, Richard Fitts and Quinn Priester serving as depth options. The fact that Crochet is left-handed, unlike every other member of the rotation, likely made him more valuable to the Red Sox.

The return to Chicago includes both of Boston’s last two first-round picks in Teel, widely regarded as one of the best catching prospects in baseball, and Montgomery, an outfielder from Texas A&M who was taken 12th overall in July but has yet to make his pro debut because of an ankle injury late in his college career. Meidroth has phenomenal on-base skills and reached Triple-A in 2024; Gonzalez was formerly considered one of the top pitching prospects in the organization but faced real struggles in 2024. According to Baseball America’s rankings, the Red Sox are giving up their No. 4 (Teel), No. 6 (Montgomery) and No. 8 (Meidroth) prospects as well as Gonzalez, who ranks in the top 15. At the end of the season, Baseball America ranked Teel as the 25th-best MLB prospect, while Montgomery, even before making his pro debut, ranked 59th.

Teel is clearly the prize of the package headed to Chicago. Drafted 14th overall out of Virginia last summer, the 22-year-old moved quickly through the minors and produced, hitting a combined .288 with 13 homers, 78 RBI and an .819 OPS in 112 games between Double-A Portland and Triple-A Worcester last season. He was considered Boston’s catcher of the future, but will now serve that role for the White Sox. Montgomery has clear upside but comes with uncertainty.

When the winter meetings opened earlier this week, the Red Sox were on the periphery of talks for Crochet, who was widely considered the top player available on the trade market. Trade talks can change with the addition of one name, though, and things came together quickly once Boston lost out on top free agents Juan Soto and Max Fried. It remains unclear if the Red Sox are done adding to their rotation – Corbin Burnes is still a free agent – but more moves are expected. Adding a right-handed bat is still a priority, and Boston could now get creative at catcher with Teel gone.