After 13 big league seasons, legendary SF Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford isn’t ready to hang up his spikes just yet and is planning to play in 2024, his agent Joel Wolfe tells John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle.
On the second day of the general manager meeting in Scottsdale, Wolfe made known that the 36-year-old is generating interest from different organizations –– a swift change of pace for Crawford, who has never tested the free agent market in his career.
“He’s been with the Giants his whole life, literally, so it’s hard for him to imagine life anywhere else, but he’s listening,” Wolfe told the Chronicle. “Several teams have called and asked if he’d consider going somewhere.”
Crawford –– a three-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove award winner –– has seen his production plummet in recent seasons, struggling to achieve league-average consistency offensively while taking multiple steps back defensively. The issue of health has also been in question as his durability has been tarnished by injuries in the last few years.
After a career resurgence in 2021 that notched him a two-year contract extension and consideration for National League MVP, Crawford’s last two seasons haven’t been pretty. In 2023, he slashed just .194/.273/.314 with a .587 OPS.
There’s no question Crawford is the greatest shortstop in franchise history, but fitting him in the organization's future plans could create a challenging and unlikely task for the Giants front office –– a baseball operations group focusing on stockpiling young and athletic talent. For that reason, president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi has already essentially named Marco Luciano as the starting shortstop, allowing the 22-year-old top prospect a chance to win the job out of spring training.
“If Brandon could write the script, he’d play shortstop on that field (at Oracle Park) the rest of his life,” Wolfe said. “It’s not within his control.”
Wolfe also said Crawford could be willing to play multiple positions to extend his career. Aside from a lone pitching appearance, he’s only ever appeared at shortstop.
Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic added additional context by later reporting that Brandon Crawford and Wolfe were “gauging interest from teams,” while not yet deciding whether he’ll play in 2024. Instead, they’re simply navigating free agency with an “open mind.”
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