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Brandon Crawford

Brandon Crawford Discusses Offseason, Upcoming Campaign

By Darragh McDonald | February 5, 2023 at 8:55am CDT

Brandon Crawford has been a staple of the Giants’ roster for years. Having grown up in the Bay Area a fan of the club, he was drafted by them in 2008 and then made his major league debut in 2011. He has been the regular shortstop in San Francisco for over a decade now, a tenure that includes a pair of World Series titles in 2012 and 2014. That will continue for at least one more season, with 2023 being the final guaranteed season on his current contract.

There were times this offseason when it seemed like that was going to change. The Giants heavily pursued Carlos Correa and agreed to a 13-year, $350MM deal that would have seen him take over the position, with Crawford getting bumped to third base. Back in December, Crawford reacted to the news by providing some comments via text message to Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic, seeming accepting of the situation though not exactly enthused. “He is a shortstop and since the signing the other day, I’ve been told that that’s where he’ll stay, so that puts me in a much different situation than I’ve ever been faced with in professional baseball,” Crawford said. “So, the rest of this off-season, spring training, and during the season, I will be working my hardest to be the best I can be at a different position and help us get back to the postseason.”

However, Correa’s free agency still had a few surprising twists remaining. The Giants grew concerned by the health of Correa’s right ankle when going through his physical examination and the deal ultimately fell through. Correa and his reps then worked out a new 12-year deal with the Mets, though that was also scuttled when the Mets found themselves similarly concerned by the ankle. Correa wound up returning to the Twins on a much more modest six-year deal, though with vesting options that can extend it by four further seasons. All of that will now be a footnote in Giants’ history, with the Crawford era at shortstop continuing uninterrupted into 2023.

The club held its Fan Fest event this weekend, with Crawford among the players in attendance, and he spoke to members of the media such as Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle and Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. “For about a week, I was mentally preparing myself for the challenges of playing a position like that,” he said. “I wouldn’t say I was necessarily looking forward to it, but at the same time, I was maybe excited for a new challenge. I was watching some Nolan Arenado film. It is what it is at this point. Now I don’t have to worry about that.”

The Giants are heading into 2023 with the 36-year-old Crawford a key piece of their roster, as both he and the club will be looking to bounce back from a rough season. In 2021, Crawford hit .298/.373/.522 for a wRC+ of 138, indicating he was 38% better than the league average hitter. He also got great marks for his glovework and stole 11 bases, leading to a tally of 6.3 wins above replacement in the eyes of FanGraphs. That was the highest such mark of his career and helped the Giants to a franchise high win total of 107. But 2022 saw Crawford deal with injuries and slump to .231/.308/.344 and a wRC+ of 80 as the club had an 81-81 season. He thinks he’s well positioned for a better showing in 2023, indicating he believes both his health and the lockout contributed to his woes last year.

“It was really hard to be able to get on a field and take batting practice or do long toss or do some of the ground ball work that I would [usually] do at one of our facilities,” Crawford said of last year’s lockout. “This year, I’ve been able to do all that and hit with our coaches, which is another big thing that I wasn’t able to do last year. They can see where my swing is at and go from there. Also, it’s good having our strength coach and trainers so that if anything pops up, they’re able to have eyes on me and I can work with them.” He also added: “I think I started getting into some bad habits without having our coaches seeing some things and picking up those things that I was creating.

On the health front, Crawford hit the injured list in June of last year due to left knee inflammation, but returned after a minimum 10-day stint. However, the issue persisted and he was back on the IL in mid-July and would miss about three weeks. “That second IL stint was a little bit longer and being able to play a couple of rehab games to make sure that it was feeling better, I think that was a lot smarter and we probably should have done that the first time. But I felt a lot better after that.”

The Giants brought in many free agents for 2023, including Mitch Haniger, Michael Conforto, Sean Manaea, Ross Stripling and Taylor Rogers, but a healthy and effective Crawford could be one of the most significant boosts for the club this season. As mentioned, it will be the final year on the extension Crawford signed in August of 2021 and decisions will have to be made about the years ahead. “There’s definitely been some thought,” Crawford says. “I wouldn’t say I have an answer one way or the other on what I want to do. There’s definitely been some talk and I’ve thought about it for sure, but yeah, I wouldn’t be able to give you an answer right now.”

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San Francisco Giants Brandon Crawford

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Zaidi: Giants In Contact With Free Agent Shortstops, Plan To Issue QO To Carlos Rodon

By Anthony Franco | November 9, 2022 at 10:34pm CDT

The Giants are widely expected to be one of the league’s most active teams this offseason, with the front office reloading after an underwhelming 2022 season. President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi met with reporters (including John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle) this evening and confirmed the team could play near the top of the market.

Asked about the club’s free agent priorities, Zaidi told the media “from a financial standpoint, there would be nobody that would be out of our capability.” He went on to note they’ve already had discussions with representatives for free agent shortstops who’ve expressed a willingness to move to second base in deference to Brandon Crawford (via Jon Morosi of MLB.com). Teams technically aren’t allowed to negotiate contract terms with free agents from other teams until tomorrow evening, but they can discuss more general concepts like roster fit during the exclusive negotiation period.

Zaidi didn’t specify the players involved, although it’s not hard to infer he’s speaking about the top shortstops on the market. Carlos Correa, Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts and Dansby Swanson are going to be priority targets for a number of the game’s biggest-spending teams. It’s notable that Zaidi spoke of potentially moving an external pickup to the other side of the bag while keeping Crawford at shortstop, although it’s not clear if that’s an absolute requirement for any player under consideration. Scott Boras, who represents both Correa and Bogaerts, told reporters he hasn’t heard from teams looking to push either player off the position (link via Bob Nightengale of USA Today).

While adding a top shortstop is plausible for a San Francisco club looking to get younger and more athletic this winter, Zaidi and his group are sure to cast a wide net. The mention of the financial wherewithal to pursue any player available will lead to further speculation about the market’s top free agent. The Giants are sure to be linked to Aaron Judge throughout the winter, as they’re indeed among the clubs most well-positioned for that kind of expenditure. San Francisco has roughly $72.5MM in guaranteed commitments on the books, pending a call on Evan Longoria’s option. Even with a fairly heavy arbitration class, the Giants have plenty of room before approaching this year’s $155MM Opening Day mark, and they’re nowhere near the franchise-record heights that pushed $200MM.

Of course, San Francisco is facing a few potential key departures. Ace Carlos Rodón opted out of the second year of his deal and is back on the open market. Zaidi confirmed the club’s obvious decision to tag him with a $19.65MM qualifying offer (via Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area), which Rodón is a lock to reject in pursuit of a deal north of nine figures. That’d entitle the Giants to a compensatory draft choice between Competitive Balance Round B and the third round (roughly 75th overall) in next year’s draft if the star southpaw departs.

San Francisco also sees corner outfielder Joc Pederson hit the open market, and while he certainly won’t receive a QO, Zaidi reiterated the team would like to keep him around (Shea link). The lefty-hitting outfielder posted a .274/.353/.521 line after signing a $6MM guarantee last offseason, and the club has discussed a potential extension as far back as September. Pederson is sure to beat $6MM this time around and looks to have a good shot at a multi-year contract after his quality platform year.

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San Francisco Giants Aaron Judge Brandon Crawford Carlos Correa Carlos Rodon Dansby Swanson Joc Pederson Trea Turner Xander Bogaerts

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Giants Interested In Free Agent Shortstops This Offseason

By Darragh McDonald | September 12, 2022 at 2:32pm CDT

The Giants could be one of the most aggressive teams this offseason, given their limited payroll commitments and many areas of need. The club’s president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi recently spoke about how “everything is on the table” this winter, “including going out and being aggressive at the top end of the free agent market.” Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that they would “love” to go after one of the top shortstop free agents if they don’t sign Aaron Judge.

Judge will undoubtedly be the top free agent on the market, based on his career track record and incredible platform season. He’s already hit 55 home runs on the year and has produced an overall batting line of .307/.410/.679. That amounts to an unbelievable 202 wRC+, indicating Judge has somehow been 102% better than the league average hitter. When combined with solid outfield defense and 16 stolen bases, he’s already racked up 9.3 wins above replacement on the season in the estimation of FanGraphs and 8.7 at Baseball Reference.

Given that Judge grew up in the Bay Area, he’s often been speculatively connected to the Giants, though it would take a sizeable commitment on the team’s part for that to come to fruition. Back in April, Judge and the Yankees failed to reach an agreement on an extension, with the slugger reportedly turning down a seven-year, $213.5MM deal. Judge was apparently looking for $36MM over nine or ten years, a range of $324-360MM. Now that Judge is having his best season yet and will soon be able to court offers from the 29 other teams, it’s entirely possible that he will now try to do even better than that.

The Giants haven’t operated at anywhere near that level since Zaidi took over in November of 2018, having not yet given out a contract longer than three years in his tenure. However, that means that the team’s ledger is fairly clear, giving the club the opportunity to change course. There’s only about $89MM committed for next year’s team, in the estimation of Jason Martinez of Roster Resource. That doesn’t include raises for arbitration-eligible players like Mike Yastrzemski or Logan Webb, but it does include $22.5MM for Carlos Rodon, who is almost certainly going to opt out and return to free agency. They have just over $20MM committed to 2024 and nothing for 2025 and beyond. Given that they had an Opening Day payroll of $155MM this year, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts, and have been as high as $200MM in 2018, there’s room for a big splash if they want to make it.

If the club can’t successfully bring Judge back to the neighborhood, it seems that pursuing a shortstop will be another option they will consider. Of course, the club already has a shortstop in Brandon Crawford, who has been a mainstay there for over a decade, having made his debut in 2011. Last year was a revelation for Crawford, as he suddenly produced the best campaign of his career after a few rough seasons. He hit .298/.373/.522 in 2021, producing a 138 wRC+ that was 25 points better than his previous career high. When combined with his excellent defensive work, he produced 6.3 wins above replacement, in the estimation of FanGraphs, easily eclipsing his previous high of 4.4.

In the midst of that excellent showing, the Giants and Crawford agreed to a two-year, $32MM extension, though the first season has been a disappointment. Crawford has been battling a knee injury for most of the year, going on the IL twice because of it. When healthy enough to take the field, he hasn’t been able to produce at anywhere near his 2021 output. He’s hitting .226/.305/.346 on the season for a wRC+ of 85, with his defensive numbers also not as impressive as last year.

Crawford still has one year remaining on that extension but will be turning 36 in January. Given his age, knee issues and diminished performance, it seems the Giants are willing to consider a bold move to strengthen their infield. Since the field of available shortstops is going to be strong again this year, it might be prudent to strike early, even if it means Crawford and another shortstop sharing the roster for one season. Trea Turner and Dansby Swanson are both on the cusp of free agency, with Carlos Correa and Xander Bogaerts both expected to opt out of their respective contracts and join them.

The Giants have also been significantly held back by their defense this year, with a collective -30 Outs Above Average and -33 Defensive Runs Saved, both of those numbers placing them 28th in the majors. Ultimate Zone Rating gives them a -28.6, which is 29th. Second base has been a particularly rough area, with the team’s collective numbers at the keystone coming in at -5 OAA (25th), -15 DRS (29th) and -2.1 UZR (21st). Having a shortstop-quality defender take over at second base, either Crawford or an outside addition, might be a good way for the club to take a step forward next year, especially with the ban on extreme defensive shifts going into place next season.

Thairo Estrada and Wilmer Flores have taken the bulk of playing time at second base this season, though each is capable of playing other positions and arguably better utilized away from second. Estrada has a -10 DRS at second and Flores a -6 this year, with each of them putting up better numbers at the other positions they’ve played. Estrada has yet to reach arbitration and Flores is eschewing free agency after agreeing to a two-year extension, reported earlier today.

Each of the Turner/Swanson/Correa/Bogaerts group will likely command a lesser contract than Judge, though that doesn’t mean they will be cheap. All four of them are currently younger than 30 years old, with Xander crossing that threshold on October 1. That means each of them will likely be looking for lengthy contracts. This past offseason, Corey Seager got ten years, Marcus Semien got seven, with Trevor Story and Javier Baez each getting six. Correa ended up settling for a three-year deal, though with a high average annual value of $35.1MM and opt-outs after each season. Similar to any Judge contract, the Giants would likely have to break their pattern of sticking to short-term deals in order to make an impact in the shortstop market. Should they miss out on all of the upper tier options, there’s a significant drop to the next level, which will be occupied by players like Jose Iglesias and Elvis Andrus.

All told, it should be a fascinating winter for the Giants and their fans. The club has been keeping its books mostly clear for years and has stayed busy on the waiver wire, grabbing just about any role player they could find. That’s left the roster in a position where they have solid depth all around the roster but a lack of truly outstanding players. 10 different position players have produced at least 0.5 fWAR for the Giants on the season but none higher than 2.3 so far. Perhaps the conditions are right for them to raise the ceiling in the months to come.

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San Francisco Giants Aaron Judge Brandon Crawford Carlos Correa Dansby Swanson Trea Turner Xander Bogaerts

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Giants Reinstate Brandon Crawford, Joc Pederson; Designate Dixon Machado

By Mark Polishuk | August 6, 2022 at 3:02pm CDT

The Giants announced that shortstop Brandon Crawford has been activated from the 10-day injured list, while outfielder Joc Pederson is also back after being activated from the seven-day concussion IL.  To create roster space, San Francisco optioned infielder David Villar to Triple-A and designated infielder Dixon Machado for assignment.

Crawford has been battling soreness in his left knee for most of the season, and the injury has resulted in two trips to the IL for the veteran shortstop within the last six weeks.  This latest IL stint sidelined Crawford for a little over three weeks, and it is possible that the lingering nature of this problem could lead to Crawford getting a few more days off than usual over the final two months of the regular season.

Coming off a career year in 2021, Crawford’s knee issues could be partially to blame for his dropoff this season, as the shortstop is hitting only .215/.297/.332 over 279 plate appearances.  There’s still time for Crawford to get on track and finish the year in more respectable fashion, even if it might be too late for the Giants to get back into the wild card race.

With the Giants moving some veteran players at the trade deadline, it is quite possible he might’ve been moved had it not been for his concussion symptoms.  The good news, however, is that Pederson is able to make a quick return after hitting the concussion-IL on July 29, so he doesn’t appear to be dealing with any lingering after-effects.  The slugger is hitting .242/.319/.492 with 17 home runs over 285 PA, and his first-half performance earned a slot on the NL All-Star roster.

It could be a very short stay in the Giants organization for Machado, who was just acquired in a trade with the Cubs on July 31.  San Francisco was in a crunch for shortstop depth with Crawford and Thairo Estrada both on the IL, and thus Machado provided some short-term help.  Machado’s five games with the Giants represented his first MLB playing time since 2018, as he has since been playing in the KBO League and with the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate.

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San Francisco Giants Transactions Brandon Crawford David Villar Dixon Machado Joc Pederson

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Giants Activate Evan Longoria, Jakob Junis From Injured List; Brandon Crawford, Mauricio Llovera Placed On IL

By Mark Polishuk | July 17, 2022 at 8:01pm CDT

TODAY: Crawford’s knee MRI revealed “nothing notable,” manager Gabe Kapler told reporters (including Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle), so there isn’t any beyond inflammation and bruising.

JULY 16: The Giants announced a series of roster moves today, with third baseman Evan Longoria and right-hander Jakob Junis returning from the 10-day and 15-day injured lists, respectively.  Longoria and Junis will take the places of two other players, as Brandon Crawford has been placed on the 10-day IL due to knee inflammation, and right-hander Mauricio Llovera was placed on the 15-day IL because of a Grade 2 flexor strain.

Crawford only just returned a few days ago from another 10-day absence due to that knee soreness, and manager Gabe Kapler mentioned at the time that Crawford has been bothered by his knee for much of the season.  Given the nagging nature of the injury and the fact that Crawford was so quickly sidelined again, it’s probably safe to guess that the shortstop will miss more than just 10 days this time around.  With the All-Star break coming, those four off-days will absorb a good chunk of the IL time for both Crawford and Llovera.

A longer absence would seem to be in order for Llovera, and it is possible his 2022 season could be over, depending on how well he can recover from the more significant strain.  The righty suffered the injury in last night’s game, after tossing 1 2/3 scoreless innings in San Francisco’s 8-5 win over the Brewers.

Llovera has a 4.41 ERA over 16 1/3 frames, with one particularly rough outing (four runs in 1/3 of an inning) against the Mets on May 23 accounting for much of that ERA damage.  Now in his third MLB season and first with the Giants, Llovera has been shuttled up and down from Triple-A multiple times this year.

Junis has missed five weeks due to a hamstring strain, and he’ll now take Llovera’s spot in the bullpen while getting built up for more rotation work.  Junis had a 2.63 ERA over his first 48 innings (starting seven of nine games) before going on the 15-day IL, and the Giants will need similar quality in their rotation now that Anthony DeSclafani is gone for the season.

A left oblique strain sidelined Longoria for only the minimum 10 days, and the veteran third baseman will now hope to finally get a sustained run of healthy baseball for the rest of the season.  Longoria already had to delay his 2022 debut until May 11 due to finger surgery, but he has hit solidly well while available, hitting .242/.331/.462 with eight homers over 151 plate appearances.

With Longoria back and Crawford out of action, the Giants will again shuffle around their versatile infield mix.  Longoria will return to his customary third base spot, and Thairo Estrada figures to get most of the playing time at shortstop.  David Villar also figures to toggle between second and third base, and Wilmer Flores will continue getting regular work as a designated hitter, second baseman, and part-time first baseman.

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San Francisco Giants Transactions Brandon Crawford Evan Longoria Jakob Junis Mauricio Llovera

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Giants Place Brandon Crawford On 10-Day Injured List

By Mark Polishuk | June 26, 2022 at 3:11pm CDT

The Giants placed shortstop Brandon Crawford on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to June 25) due to left knee inflammation.  The recently acquired Yermin Mercedes has been called up from Triple-A and will take Crawford’s spot on the active roster.

Crawford hurt his knee Tuesday while awkwardly sliding into home plate, and the injury forced him out of that game and caused him to miss three of San Francisco’s last four contests.  However, it doesn’t appear as if the problem is too serious, as manager Gabe Kapler feels Crawford will miss just the minimum 10 days.  As Kapler explained to The San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser and other reporters, the IL placement would be something of a general reset, as Crawford has been playing through some nagging injuries for much of the season.

Playing at less than 100 percent could explain the dropoff from Crawford’s 2021 numbers, as the shortstop enjoyed the best season of his career at age 34.  Crawford finished fourth in NL MVP voting last year, but he has followed up that performance by hitting just .224/.313/.350 over his first 243 plate appearances of 2022.  Some regression at the plate was perhaps inevitable, but Crawford’s usually-strong defense has also fallen off, which could hint at larger physical issues.

The hope is that the 10-day break will allow Crawford to heal up for the second half of the season, and he can then help the Giants return to the postseason.  In the interim, Thairo Estrada and Donovan Walton are the likeliest candidates to cover shortstop in Crawford’s absence.  Creating the chain reaction in the Giants’ platoon-heavy lineup, this could also mean more time for Tommy La Stella and Wilmer Flores at second base, to cover Estrada’s playing time.  Likewise, Mercedes could now get the DH at-bats previously occupied by La Stella and Flores.

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San Francisco Giants Transactions Brandon Crawford Yermin Mercedes

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2021 Gold Glove Winners Announced

By Mark Polishuk | November 7, 2021 at 9:11pm CDT

The 2021 Gold Glove winners were announced tonight, with plenty of Cardinal Red to be found amidst the gold.  The Cardinals became the first team to ever have five players capture Gold Gloves, underlining the tremendous all-around defensive effort that helped St. Louis reach the postseason.  Ironically, the only nominated Cardinals player who didn’t win was the most decorated name of the group — nine-time winner Yadier Molina.

The A’s, Royals, Astros, and the World Series champion Braves also had multiple winners, with each club boasting two Gold Glovers.  Ten of the 18 winners captured their first Gold Gloves, though some veteran winners continued to shine.  The most notable of the multiple-time winners is Nolan Arenado, who becomes the 23rd player to ever win nine or more Gold Gloves in his career.  Arenado still has plenty of time to continue his climb up the all-time list, yet catching 16-time winner Brooks Robinson for the all-time third base record may be a tall order even for Arenado.

Here is the full list of winners, as well as the other two nominated finalists at each position….

NL Catcher: Jacob Stallings, Pirates (1st career Gold Glove)
Yadier Molina/Cardinals, J.T. Realmuto/Phillies

NL First Base: Paul Goldschmidt, Cardinals (4th)
Freddie Freeman/Braves, Max Muncy/Dodgers

NL Second Base: Tommy Edman, Cardinals (1st)
Ozzie Albies/Braves, Kolten Wong/Brewers

NL Third Base: Nolan Arenado, Cardinals (9th)
Manny Machado/Padres, Ryan McMahon/Rockies

NL Shortstop: Brandon Crawford, Giants (4th)
Francisco Lindor/Mets, Kevin Newman/Pirates

NL Left Field: Tyler O’Neill, Cardinals (2nd)
David Peralta/Diamondbacks, AJ Pollock/Dodgers

NL Center Field: Harrison Bader, Cardinals (1st)
Jackie Bradley Jr.
/Brewers, Bryan Reynolds/Pirates

NL Right Field: Adam Duvall, Braves/Marlins (1st)
Mookie Betts/Dodgers, Mike Yastrzemski/Giants

NL Pitcher: Max Fried/Braves (2nd)
Zach Davies/Cubs, Zack Wheeler/Phillies

AL Catcher: Sean Murphy, Athletics (1st)
Martin Maldonado/Astros, Salvador Perez/Royals

AL First Base: Yuli Gurriel, Astros (1st)
Matt Olson/Athletics, Jared Walsh/Angels

AL Second Base: Marcus Semien, Blue Jays (1st)
David Fletcher/Angels, Whit Merrifield/Royals

AL Third Base: Matt Chapman, Athletics (3rd)
Jose Ramirez/Guardians, Joey Wendle/Rays

AL Shortstop: Carlos Correa, Astros (1st)
J.P. Crawford/Mariners, Andrelton Simmons/Twins

AL Left Field: Andrew Benintendi, Royals (1st)
Randy Arozarena/Rays, Lourdes Gurriel Jr./Blue Jays

AL Center Field: Michael A. Taylor, Royals (1st)
Kevin Kiermaier/Rays, Myles Straw/Guardians

AL Right Field: Joey Gallo, Yankees/Rangers (2nd)
Hunter Renfroe/Red Sox, Kyle Tucker/Astros

AL Pitcher: Dallas Keuchel, White Sox (5th)
Jose Berrios/Blue Jays and Twins, Zack Greinke/Astros

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Atlanta Braves Houston Astros Kansas City Royals New York Yankees Oakland Athletics Pittsburgh Pirates St. Louis Cardinals Toronto Blue Jays Adam Duvall Andrew Benintendi Brandon Crawford Carlos Correa Dallas Keuchel Harrison Bader Jacob Stallings Joey Gallo Marcus Semien Matt Chapman Max Fried Michael A. Taylor Nolan Arenado Paul Goldschmidt Sean Murphy Tommy Edman Yuli Gurriel

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Giants Sign Brandon Crawford To Two-Year, $32MM Extension

By Anthony Franco | August 13, 2021 at 10:59pm CDT

The Giants announced they’ve agreed to terms on a two-year contract extension with shortstop Brandon Crawford. It’s a $32MM deal, with Crawford slated to receive matching $16MM salaries between 2022-23. The three-time All-Star had been slated to reach free agency at the end of the season. Crawford is represented by Wasserman.

The deal will tack on another two seasons for Crawford, who turns 35 years old in January, in orange and black. The Giants selected the Bay Area native in the fourth round of the 2008 draft after a standout career at UCLA. He made his big league debut three years later and has been an organizational fixture ever since. Crawford has been San Francisco’s starting shortstop for the past decade, contributing to the franchise’s 2012 and 2014 World Series titles.

While Crawford broke in as a light-hitting defensive specialist, he put together three consecutive solid seasons with the bat from 2014-16, earning the NL’s Silver Slugger award for shortstops in the second of those years. Beginning in 2017, he started to fall off at the plate and eventually bottomed out with a .228/.304/.350 line in 2019. Crawford looked destined to end his career as a bottom-of-the-order type, but he’s posted a remarkable turnaround over the past two seasons.

The left-handed hitter bounced back to put up a quality .256/.326/.465 line in 2020. It might’ve been easy to waive that away as a small sample in the shortened season, but he’s been an absolute force at the plate this year. Crawford enters play Friday carrying a .296/.364/.540 mark with nineteen home runs over 371 plate appearances.

That’s far and away the best offensive showing of his career, and it’s among the best production of any player in baseball. Crawford’s 139 wRC+ suggests he’s been 39 percentage points more productive than the league average hitter after accounting for Oracle Park’s pitcher-friendly nature. That’s the #27 mark among the 282 hitters with 200+ plate appearances. At shortstop, only Fernando Tatís Jr. has been better at the plate.

Crawford’s not making much more contact or drawing many more walks than he has over the prior few seasons. He’s simply hitting the ball harder more consistently. Crawford’s 44.7% hard contact rate is his best mark since 2015, up nearly ten percentage points over his run of poor offense from 2017-19. His barrel rate (essentially how often Crawford hits the ball hard at a launch angle conducive to power) is up to 14.4% — easily his highest clip since Statcast became public in 2015 and a 90th percentile mark leaguewide. He’s hitting more fly balls generally, and it’s no coincidence he’ll certainly surpass his previous career best in homers (21).

Equally as important, Crawford has shown no signs of decline on defense. He’s always been among the game’s most sure-handed defenders, and that hasn’t changed despite his age. Statcast has credited the three-time Gold Glove award winner with 10 outs above average this season, a mark that trails only Nick Ahmed, Francisco Lindor, Matt Chapman, Nicky Lopez and Andrelton Simmons among infielders. Crawford’s reputation and advanced metrics suggest he’s still among the game’s premier defenders.

Crawford’s production on both sides of the ball is a huge reason the Giants have surprisingly posted the league’s best record. Between his stellar production, longstanding importance to the organization, and previous ties to the Bay Area, it’s little surprise both sides were motivated to get a deal done.

Even after signing Crawford, the Giants have an abundance of future payroll space. Evan Longoria ($19.667MM), Tommy La Stella ($5.25MM) and Jake McGee ($2.5MM) are the only other players with guaranteed contracts on the books next season. For a franchise that has previously pushed payroll up near $200MM, there’s plenty of breathing room for president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi and the rest of the front office.

That abundance of financial flexibility reflects the huge crop of potential free agents in San Francisco, though. Like Crawford, catcher Buster Posey and first baseman Brandon Belt are franchise cornerstones having great seasons. Posey’s contract comes with a $22MM club option for 2022 ($3MM buyout), while Belt is scheduled to reach free agency at the end of the year. So is staff ace Kevin Gausman, as well as rotation mates Anthony DeSclafani, Alex Wood and Johnny Cueto. (Cueto has a $22MM club option that looks likely to be bought out). Deadline acquisition Kris Bryant will be one of the top position players on the market.

There’s obviously quite a bit on the offseason to-do list for Zaidi and general manager Scott Harris. They’ve started their winter work early by ensuring that Crawford returns at shortstop. There’s a good chance this extension solidifies Crawford as a one-franchise player. Last month, he told John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle he could consider retirement a couple years from now.

“As a competitor, I don’t ever want there to be a year like, ‘Oh, yeah, this is the end for him,’” Crawford told Shea. “I want to still be a good player the last year of my career. That’s why I’d say, ‘Yeah, at least a couple of more years would be nice.’ I don’t want to be 39 or 40 and feel I can’t move around anymore at short. I still want to be a good shortstop when I decide to hang it up.”

Crawford’s previous extension, signed in November 2015, contained a full no-trade clause. This deal does not, but that’s presumably because such a provision was unnecessary. Crawford reached ten years of major league service in June. With it, he locked in full no-trade rights as a 10-and-5 player (one with ten years of MLB service, the last five of which have come with the same team).

The signing removes one of the best-performing impending free agents from next winter’s market. There’s been a huge amount of attention on the star-studded shortstop class, which will include Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, Trevor Story, Marcus Semien and Javier Báez. Crawford has been as or more productive than all of them this year. His age was always going to keep him from landing any sort of mega-deal, but Crawford could’ve been a target for immediate contenders needing a shortstop. Instead, he’ll forego the open market to stick with the only organization he’s ever known.

Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area was first to report the deal’s specific terms. Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

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Newsstand San Francisco Giants Transactions Brandon Crawford

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Giants Designate Mike Tauchman For Assignment

By Steve Adams | July 29, 2021 at 12:54pm CDT

The Giants announced that they’ve designated outfielder Mike Tauchman for assignment as part of a series of roster moves. San Francisco has also reinstated Brandon Crawford from the 10-day injured list, reinstated Aaron Sanchez from the 60-day injured list (hence the 40-man move) and optioned righty John Brebbia to Triple-A.

Tauchman, 30, came to the Giants in an early-season swap that sent left-handed reliever Wandy Peralta to the Yankees. The former Rockies farmhand had a surprise breakout with the Yankees in 2019 but took a step back in 2020 and has yet to produce much in 2021 with either New York or San Francisco. The Giants gave Tauchman 175 plate appearances, but he managed only a .178/.286/.283 with four homers and four doubles. The Giants valued Tauchman’s glove in center field, and he made a couple of key home run robberies during his time as a Giant.

Ultimately, however, the Giants simply ran out of room for Tauchman on the big league roster — and because he’s out of minor league options, he can’t simply be sent to Triple-A. San Francisco has Mike Yastrzemski, Steven Duggar, Alex Dickerson, Austin Slater, Darin Ruf and LaMonte Wade Jr. as outfield alternatives on the MLB roster at the moment, and the Giants have been tied to some possible outfield upgrades on the trade market as well (e.g. the since-traded Starling Marte and the still-available Kyle Schwarber).

The Giants can trade Tauchman to another club if they can find a partner prior to tomorrow afternoon’s deadline. Otherwise he’ll be placed on outright waivers and made available for all 29 other teams to claim.

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San Francisco Giants Transactions Aaron Sanchez Brandon Crawford John Brebbia Mike Tauchman

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NL West Injury Notes: Weathers, Bellinger, Betts, Kershaw, Belt, Crawford, Kelly

By Mark Polishuk | July 24, 2021 at 9:08pm CDT

Padres left-hander Ryan Weathers was activated off the 10-day injured list earlier today, and he marked the occasion with four shutout innings and his first career home run in San Diego’s 3-2 loss to the Marlins.  Weathers had to be helped off the field after suffering what looked like an ugly leg injury on July 11, though he ended up only fracturing a small bone in his right ankle.  He looked none the worse for wear today, which is a nice boost to a Padres team that has battled through multiple pitching injuries and might yet look to add more arms by the trade deadline.

More injury updates from around the NL West…

  • Cody Bellinger is day-to-day after leaving Friday’s game due to hamstring tightness, though Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told The Los Angeles Times’ Jeff Miller and other reporters that Bellinger was on the field working out prior to today’s game.  When he does return, Bellinger might be utilized at first base in order to reduce his running, Roberts said.
  • Roberts also had more updates on other injured Dodgers stars, including Mookie Betts’ continuing right hip problems.  Betts received a cortisone shot and the plan is for the outfielder to play on Tuesday when the Dodgers begin a series with the Giants.  Betts hasn’t played since July 19 and hasn’t started a game since July 17.  Clayton Kershaw (placed on the 10-day IL with forearm inflammation on July 7) threw a bullpen session today and is slated for a simulated game on Tuesday.
  • Brandon Belt may be close to a rehab assignment, as the Giants first baseman ran the bases today as he continues to work his way back from knee inflammation.  Belt told reporters (including John Shea of The San Francisco Chronicle) that he feels “way better than I thought I was going to feel at this point,” considering that there was some consideration of knee surgery when he initially hurt his knee almost exactly one month ago.  Belt intends to wear a protective sleeve over his knee when he returns to the field.
  • In other positive injury recovery news for the Giants, Brandon Crawford began baseball activity today.  Crawford was placed on the 10-day IL with what was considered to be a minor left oblique strain on July 19, and it looks like Crawford will indeed only be out of action for a minimal amount of time.
  • Diamondbacks catcher Carson Kelly will began a rehab assignment on Thursday and will move to High-A Hillsboro on Sunday, MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert tweets.  A fractured wrist sent Kelly to the injured list on June 20, interrupting an outstanding season for the 27-year-old backstop.  Kelly has hit .260/.385/.460 with eight home runs over 187 plate appearances.
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Arizona Diamondbacks Los Angeles Dodgers Notes San Diego Padres San Francisco Giants Brandon Belt Brandon Crawford Carson Kelly Clayton Kershaw Cody Bellinger Dave Roberts Mookie Betts Ryan Weathers

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