In his ESPN.com blog entry today (Insider required), Buster Olney passes along an interesting note: Agents that have spoken to Olney believe "a ton" of free agents will sign within the next week. Of course, while we could see a lot of second- or third-tier names come off the board, it may take a little longer for elite players like Carl Crawford to sign. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes that Crawford's representatives have told teams negotiations could take some time, with plenty of suitors emerging. Here are today's other Crawford-related tidbits:
- Crawford would be a perfect fit for the Angels, says Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times. According to DiGiovanna, the Angels, who have long been considered a favorite to land Crawford, would prefer to pay the outfielder a higher annual salary over five or six years rather than guaranteeing seven or eight years.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post discusses the Yankees' interest in Crawford, writing that the team is "staying in touch if, for no other reason, to make sure the Red Sox pay a premium should he go to Boston." Sherman doesn't expect the Yankees to seriously consider Crawford unless they miss out on Cliff Lee and need to use one of their current outfielders to trade for a pitcher.
- Within Cafardo's aforementioned piece, he notes that Theo Epstein and the Red Sox are reluctant to dish out long-term deals, meaning it's unlikely they'd make Crawford an eight-year offer.
what do you guys think: burrell signed for $1m, 1yr because he wants to keep the giants flexible in crawford hunt? or perhaps now the giants are obligated to start him every day in left field after getting such a bargain?i love any idea that helps keep derosa out of the left field mix.
crawford should go to anaheim. He will be a better fit there than boston. In boston and newyork there is no space to put crawford since werth will come to boston
Would you really expect Boston to sign Werth and Crawford? It has to be one, the other, or neither.
i say it will be werth than crawford. Crawford will fit with angels better than boston. To me the angels need crawford more as a neccesity because he can play all outfield positions. Also it will be easier to win the divison there ebcause now that cliff lee and zack grienke is not going to texas angels will win divison easier than redsox
Werth can play all outfield positions as well. If Shane Victorino was out of the lineup, the caveman played center.
werth is not a redsox now. just got signed for 126 million 7 years with nationals
Well it’s not Werth, and it won’t be Crawford either, and Agon looks gone too. The Red Sox are a mess
uh, what?
yeah because werth already signed with boston
Yeah you nailed that one with Werth
Reluctant to hand out long term deals? Like the one he just shelled out to John Lackey? AND the one I feel Theo will sign with A-Gonz? Really, reluctant? Hmm…
I think “reluctant to hand out MORE long term deals” would be more appropriate. This is the reason I could see Boston signing Magglio Ordonez to a 2 year deal rather than risk 5 years with Werth. I really doubt they have interest in paying Crawford considering what they will be giving to AGon.
Do you remember how badly they wanted to ship out Manny’s 20 million dollar contract. That was when he was still producing .325/35/120 seasons year in and year out.
Manny was also producing all sorts or trouble year in and year out.
At this point Crawford becomes a luxury to the Red Sox, not a necessity. Sure, I’d love for the Sox to sign him but Werth makes much more sense. Right handed power bat to balance the left/right combos Tito likes. It’s not a forgone conclusion that we will get either but there are bigger needs than signing Crawford right now.
crawford would not go to redsox because if the #Rangers miss on lee and grienke they don’t have a good team and now the angels can repeat as divison leaders and crawford wants to win. It will be easier for him to go to angels than redsox because they are giving hom more money in less years plus he can be in playoffs every eyar from now on with angels
Haha, the Rangers don’t have a good team without Lee? Pretty sure they were scorching the AL West before the acquired him. Also, I think Werth and Crawford would be a coin-flip as far as value to the Red Sox, so I’d just sign whoever is cheaper (considering they wor out the A-Gon trade)
If I remember correctly, at the time the rangers traded for lee, it was a neck and neck race with the rangers in 1st by a few games
more like 6 games sir… nice try though.
5 1/2 actually, a little more than i thought but still not running away with the division
ha ha 5 1/2 lol. Because that is so much different than 6. The fact is that the Angels are competitive every year, but almost never are competitive in the post season. The fact is that the Angels made the post season all but 3 out of the last 10 years. They have the one WS to their credit in 2002, but every other year except 2005 and 2009 they were knocked out in the ALDS. To me that is not winning. That is more like just making the playoffs. Crawford knows that the AL goes through the Yankees or the Red Soxs almost every year (no other teams have won multiple ALCS in the last 10 years). He is not the difference maker. If he wants to make the playoffs, then go to the Angels, if he wants to win the WS go to the Yankees or the Red Soxs.
And just as the Yankees can win a bidding war with the Rangers, so can the Sox (if it came down to Crawford). It’s just how baseball is, the Yankees have the most money followed by the Red Sox.
Not that I disagree but Theo has shown that he is good at setting a value for a player and not exceeding that value. So all the Halos would have to do is pay more than Theo thinks Crawford it worth.
Actually the Nationals and Twins owners are worth the most, over 3 billiion, they just don’t want to spend any money that doesn’t come from their teams revenue.
And just as the Yankees can win a bidding war with the Rangers, so can the Sox (if it came down to Crawford). It’s just how baseball is, the Yankees have the most money followed by the Red Sox.
yeah. pretty sure the rangers dominated the crappy angels all year… The angels are horrible. Rangers will most likely get both Lee and Crawford, Crawford will sign 7 yr/165 m deal and give the rangers the best outfield in the league. AL MVP J. Hamilton CF. RF All Star Nelson Cruz. LF golden glove and All Star Crawford.
You type like a 14 year old, and yes, the Rangers did beat the ‘crappy’ Angels all year. They were crappy. Very crappy. Now, I can’t recall one season when the Rangers came out on top of the AL West when the Halos have been playing true to their winning form.
About 95% sure this won’t happen, but what if the Jays get in on this one. A couple of things to consider
1. Rajai Davis brought in to leadoff and play RF.
2. Knows the level of competition will be high and familiar with the division.
3. Jays could trade Snider to fill other needs
4. Can bat 3rd in the lineup
5. $$ should not be an issue
I think it would be great if the Jays got Carl Crawford…But even if they offer the most money, I doubt he’d want to play for the Jays if the Yankees, Red Sox, and Angels all offer him a contract.
The #jays are focusing on getting grienke. crawford would be good but it is too expensive for them to get him.
the #bluejays are going to get jach grienke next wekk after cliff lee signs. That would amke them top 3 rotation in mlb which is good for them.
Not being a Nazi or anything but really I am sure you could have looked at what you were typing before you hit reply.
Top 3 Rotation? Phillies, Giants, Cardinals, Red Sox, Yankees (Once they sign Lee), Braves all have better rotations and I am sure there are a few others. Greinke will not change their standing on this list either. If Drabek can develop into a star with some of the young guys they have, they may have a formidable rotation in a couple of years.
“a ton of free agents will sign within the next week.”
What’s that, like 8 players? Not impressed! =^]
yeah atleast 10 or more will be signed like crawford, lee, pettite, grienke, werth, downs and etc
Who will Greinke sign with, you think?
it has to be bluejays. They had expressed so much interest in him.
Grienke isn’t a FA.
It’s possible the Boston is after neither Werth nor Crawford, rather Upton is the target. We’ll give them Ellsbury, Lowrie, and Daisuke plus pay for some of Daisuke’s remaining two year contract.
Why would Arizona make that deal? Apparently their asking price is through the roof, and that package would be laughed at.
yeah the reason why every other team dropped out of upton was too much prospects and arizona wanted to win the trade.
Boston are already hurt their farm by adding A-Gon. I highly doubt they wanna dish more specs for Justin Upton.
A-Gon is A-Gon.
I don’t think Arizona wants prospects, they said they’re looking for 4-5 ML ready players. I would think Ellsbury, Bard, Lowrie, Doubront, Kalish is what they want.
That’s almost equal to the yankees giving Gardner, Eduardo Nunez, and AJ Burnett, and like Adams. That deal would never get done.
The Red Sox have the pieces to potentially do an Upton trade but those pieces wouldn’t do it. It would also likely take nearly all of the prospects (that are worth anything) that the Red Sox have left and/or Ellsbury and Bard.
Why would they laugh at that? Ellsbury replaces Upton and currently he is cheaper. Then you get a major league ready SS or 3rd baseman, plus a pitcher who might thrive in a NL environment,
Arizona doesn’t want farm players. They want major league ready and we’ve got them. They get Ellsbury to replace Upton and they save on payroll plus we give them Lowrie, Daisuke
Upton: $4.25 million in 2011, $6.75 million in 2012, $9.75 million in 2013, $14.25 million in 2014 and $14.5 million in 2015.
Ellsbury: 1 year/$0.4965M
Anyone else notice that whenever the angels are suitors to a major free agent, Mike DiGiovanna says that the player would be a perfect fit on the halos???
it’s because he is an LA Times guy…. he isn’t going to comment on how good a fit a player might be for the Red Sox or whatever
i know but it is always “he is a perfect fit for the angels”
A little birdie whispered in my ear Detroit will either get Upton or Werth. Don’t count DD out from doing something
I could see DD going all out for Upton. Not sure its a great idea considering his strikeout rate and disappointing numbers in the NL and in a hitters park. If DD feels he can make Upton lose the strikeouts and reach his potential, I could see a deal like this going down. I could see the Tigers giving up Turner, Crosby, Villareal, Strieby, and Wells/Raburn for Upton which is an awful lot, but given Upton’s potential, relative cost-effectiveness, and how good the White Sox and Twins look this season after the White Sox got Dunn AND Konerko, I could see DD pulling the trigger. As a Tigers fan, with Verlander, Scherzer. Porcello all righthanded starters, giving away another top RH starter prospect doesn’t bother me. Crosby hurts, but he has struggled with injury and may have already lost value. Strieby doesn’t have a position with MCab and VMart, and Villareal and Wells/Raburn, both solid players/prospects, can be replaced. This is not a bad package for Arizona, however, it may not be enough to “blow Towers away”
you guys don’t understand. there isn’t a chance lee will sign with the yanks. he wants to be close to his home in arkansas and why would he go to the team he dominated?
I don’t think so.
Kenny williams comes out of left field(no punn intended) to sign crawford…slot him in CF or Right(he has a good arm) and trade quentin for BP guys
no way. Sox can’t afford that nor is it necessary. Pierre and Rios both cover great range in LF and CF despite Pierre having a poor arm, making a RF/DH platoon of Quentin/Dunn’s lack of range in RF not that much of a liability.
one of the fist valid arguments for dunn in the outfield a lot of people are saying that him in the OF would make the sox worse but with rios’ and pierre’s range its not as bad plus the OF at us cell is small
Crawford will be on the Angels. The Red Sox DON’T need him period.
Werth is no lock for Boston people. The Tigers WILL be serious players for his services, probably willing to overpay and add the years Theo will not. Look at the Length of some of DD’s contracts and how deep Detroit’s pockets are and Boston fans pencilling Werth in RF next year may start to reconsider
I agree!
The Red Sox just lost Werth to the Nat’s so they will probably go after Crawford but they don’t need him they just want him. If the Yankees get Cliff Lee then they won’t pursue Crawford. The Yankees and Red Sox can offer Crawford more years than the Angels like 7 or 8 but the Angels could offer him a 5 or 6 year deal worth more money per year. It all depends on how much Cliff Lee signs for and where and if Crawford wants more years or more money per year. I think Cliff lee goes to the Yankees and Carl Crawford goes to the Angels.
I think he should stay in St.Pete where the fans love him and he apart of a Team that true to him !!