Brandon Crawford previously stated that the San Francisco Giants were ready to move on from him in MLB free agency this past offseason. The three-time All-Star ended up signing with the St. Louis Cardinals ahead of the 2024 season. Crawford recently doubled down on his Giants admission during an appearance on Foul Territory.
“It’s not something I really want to dive into a whole lot anymore, it’s been talked about a little bit,” Crawford said. “But yeah, I had a meeting with Farhan (Zaidi) pretty early into the offseason. Just kind of letting him know that I wanted to come back, I wanted to end my career as a Giant. Understood how I’d played the past couple years, so not necessarily coming back in the same role. More as like a mentor, even utility guy, I would play second or third or whatever the team needs me to do.
“Which is basically… The same kind of role I’m here now with the Cardinals. I don’t know if they’re going to need me to play second or third because there are a few utility guys who can do that. But it was pretty obvious that I probably wasn’t coming back (to the Giants), still wanted to keep the door open throughout the offseason. There was a very small percentage chance I was coming back. The closer it got to spring training, the more it seemed apparent that I wasn’t going to be back.”
Did Giants make the wrong decision?
San Francisco is looking to give their younger players more time on the field. That means Crawford would not have received much playing time if he returned to San Francisco. Crawford, though, said he was willing to accept a mentor/utility role, and one would have imagined the Giants would be interested in signing him as a result.
Sure, one can argue it would be the right thing to do. However, it would not have been just a charity move. Crawford is an experienced player who could have helped San Francisco’s infielders in pivotal fashion. In addition to the aforementioned three All-Star teams Crawford was selected to during his Giants tenure, he also won four Gold Gloves.
Crawford is now set to receive a fresh start with the Cardinals. Still, it is surprising that the Giants did not re-sign the veteran given his previously-stated interest in a reunion.
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