The Los Angeles Dodgers have cut ties with former All-Star outfielder Carl Crawford approximately one week after they designated him for assignment.
Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times reported the Dodgers released Crawford on Monday.
The Dodgers announced on June 5 that they had designated Crawford for assignment, meaning they had 10 days to trade him, release him or place him on waivers for any team to claim.
Crawford’s contractual situation made it virtually impossible for another club to add him. Per ESPN.com’s Doug Padilla, the Dodgers will be on the hook for the approximately $35 million Crawford is still owed through 2017.
The Dodgers acquired the 34-year-old in a 2012 trade with the Boston Red Sox that also included Adrian Gonzalez and Josh Beckett going to Los Angeles.
Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said in Padilla’s report from June 5 that the emergence of other outfielders led to the team’s decision regarding Crawford:
I think the biggest thing for us right now is going with an eight-man pen and a short bench. I think that added versatility had a lot of value for us. Just as we go through spring training and into the beginning part of the year, we’re constantly evaluating our roster and looking ahead.
I think we just got to the point with Carl — he’s the type of guy who his entire career has worked very hard and played very hard. Eventually that just takes a toll on your body. We just felt like we’d gotten to the point where this made the most sense for everyone involved.
Crawford began his career with the Tampa Bay Rays, playing with the team from 2002-10. He was one of the best players in the American League during that time, posting a .296/.337/.444 slash line and the sixth-most wins above replacement (36.7) among qualified outfielders, per FanGraphs. He also made four All-Star teams while in Tampa Bay.
Since leaving the Rays, however, Crawford’s career has fallen apart. He hasn’t played in more than 130 games in any of the last six seasons and has a slash line of .271/.310/.407 over that span. His 5.3 WAR since 2011 ranks 81st out of 101 outfielders with at least 1,500 plate appearances, per FanGraphs.
It speaks to Crawford’s diminished talent that the Dodgers would make this move now, since Yasiel Puig and Andre Ethier are currently on the disabled list, Joc Pederson is struggling with a .227 average and a .318 on-base percentage and Scott Van Slyke’s slugging percentage is .111.
This could reasonably be the end of Crawford’s career, between his .464 OPS and his inability to stay healthy long enough to potentially figure anything out. His fall from grace was steep and drastic, but at his best, Crawford was a difference-maker with the bat and his glove.
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