Getty St. Louis Cardinals infielder Brandon Crawford
An era officially ended with the San Francisco Giants.
Shortstop Brandon Crawford left the organization when he signed a one-year, $2-millon contract with the St. Louis Cardinals on February 27. Crawford’s exit was expected after the Giants made little effort to retain him when he became a free agent in November.
Yet there was a finality to the 37-year-old’s joining the Cardinals because it ended Crawford’s 13-year run with the Giants, the only team he’s played for.
Crawford grew up as a Giants fan in Pleasanton, California, and was drafted by them in 2008 in the fourth round out of UCLA, making his major-league debut in 2011.
Crawford, who played in 1,654 regular-season games and 43 more during the postseason was part of World Series-winning teams in 2012 and 2014, won four Gold Gloves and was selected to three All-Star Games. But he hit just .194/.273/.314 with seven home runs in 93 games last season.
The San Jose Mercury News’ Dieter Kurtenbach wrote that despite Crawford’s legacy with the team, re-signing him was not an option.
“A player who is fine in the field and brutal at the plate should not be starting at shortstop for any team in baseball,” Kurtenbach wrote in a column published February 27. “Crawford’s decline doesn’t take away from all the great memories he made for the Giants. But [director of baseball operations Farhan] Zaidi and [manager] Bob Melvin have to win this season
Who Will Giants Pick to Replace Crawford?
Whoever takes over at shortstop for the Giants will replace one of the franchise’s more significant players since the team moved from New York to San Francisco in 1958.
Rookie Marco Luciano appears to be the favorite to open the season as the Giants’ primary shortstop.
The 22-year-old native of the Dominican Republic reached the major leagues last season. He appeared in 14 games and had a slash line of .231/.333/.308 with 17 strikeouts in 45 plate appearances.
Despite the lackluster start to his big-league career, Luciano is considered a fine young talent. MLB.com ranks Luciano as the 39th-best prospect in baseball while he is No. 43 on Baseball Prospectus’ list and ranked No. 56 by Baseball America.
The Giants will also look at veteran Nick Ahmed, who they signed to a minor-league contract on Monday. Ahmed won back-to-back Gold Gloves in 2018 and 2019 during his 10 seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks. However, he was released last year after hitting .212/.257/.303 with two homers in 72 games.
Casey Schmitt is also part of the competition. Like Luciano, Schmitt made his major-league debut last season with the Giants and finished with a .206/.255/.324 slash line and five homers in 90 games.
What is Crawford’s Role With Cardinals?
The Cardinals signed Crawford with the idea that he will be a bench player and mentor to rookie shortstop Masyn Winn. Crawford told reporters, including MLB.com’s John Denton, on Tuesday that he is happy to fill that role.
“I’m here to help him out any way I can and obviously help the team any way I can, also,” Crawford said. “That’s what was appealing.”
Crawford also provides insurance in case the 21-year-old Winn performs during the season. The Cardinals also feel Crawford would be a solid fill-in if Winn gets injured.
Winn reached the major leagues last year for the first time and struggled. In 37 games, he batted .172/.230/.238 with two home runs.
However, Winn is ranked No. 39 on Baseball America’s top prospect list as well as No. 43 by MLB.com and No. 53 by Baseball Prospectus.
“Let’s be very clear, though: This is Masyn’s job,” Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak told reporters at the Cardinals’ spring training camp in Jupiter, Fla. “We brought in Brandon to give us that protection should something happen. He understands that role and we think he’ll be a nice addition to our team.”