Red Sox getting raped by Carl Crawford's agent - peep this contract

[OG Hack Wilson]

7 years, 142 Million!!


for a guy who's never hit more than 20 HR in a season and will be mad old by the end of this deal


damn, I can't wait for Cliff LEe to come to NY

[theremedy360]

Crawford's always been one of my favorites. But with that said, 21 mill a year is way too much.

[Chamillitary Click]

He should thank Jason Werth for that ridiculous deal he got. Only upped his ante.

Fuckin' Red Sox.

[Javier]

You're talking about the Red Sox getting raped, yet bring up the potential Lee Yankee signing? LOL

[Twentytwofifty]

Despite acquiring Adrian Gonzalez on Sunday, the Boston has taken a back seat to the Yankees down here in Orlando. With Derek Jeter re-signing and holding an angry press conference, as well as their open pursuit of Cliff Lee, the meetings have centered around what New York’s activity. Not anymore – with Carl Crawford in the fold, the Red Sox have stolen the show.

In general, reaction to the deal among people I talked to in Orlando was mostly negative, as $142 million for Carl Crawford is a very big number. As a guy who gets a lot of value from his speed and defense, he isn’t the type of player to land a contract of this size. As Ken Rosenthal mentioned on Twitter, this is $50 million more than the next highest contract in baseball history for a guy who had never hit 20 or more home runs in a season – Ichiro’s previous record of $90 million for five years just got blown out of the water.

Just because it is unique doesn’t mean it is automatically bad, however. Defense has historically been undervalued in the market, and while not everyone agrees with the conclusions reached by defensive metrics all the time, I have never met anyone who thinks that Carl Crawford is anything besides a great defensive left fielder. His speed and defense package are among the very best in the game, and he’s a pretty good hitter too.

Over the last two years, the only position players with a higher WAR than Crawford are Albert Pujols, Evan Longoria, Ryan Zimmerman, Joe Mauer, and Chase Utley. Crawford is ahead of sluggers like Adrian Gonzalez, Joey Votto, and Miguel Cabrera, but as we saw with Gonzalez’s extension, that kind of money for their skillset is considered acceptable. Just because Crawford creates wins in a different way doesn’t make those wins less valuable. If you buy into Crawford being an elite defender, then he is worth this contract, and maybe even a little bit more.

However, there is an argument to be made that left field in Boston is perhaps the worst place in baseball for a guy with great range to make an impact defensively. The Green Monster turns a lot of potential outs in other parks into base hits in Fenway, which may diminish Crawford’s ability to perform at the same level as he did in Tampa Bay. The Red Sox might have to consider shifting Crawford to right field, where his speed could be better utilized to maximize his value.

Even as a left fielder, though, I think he can earn this money. If we assume Crawford is a +5 win player, $5 million per win is the going rate this winter, and a standard aging curve that knocks off half a win per season, inflation “only” needs to be six percent annually per year going forward for Crawford’s projected value to come out to $142 million. Given that Crawford is only 29, he might be able to sustain a +5 win peak for another year or two, which would push his value even higher.

Are the Red Sox taking a big risk that Crawford won’t suffer some kind of leg injury that destroys all of his value at once? Sure, they are, but that risk is there with nearly any kind of player you sign to a deal this large. This skillset ages pretty well, and barring injury, Crawford should be one of the premier players in the game for the next three or four years. Add in that the wins Crawford add could be the difference between making the playoffs and sitting at home in a tough division, and there are actually a lot of reasons to like this deal for Boston.

They got a lot better today. Yes, it’s a lot of money for a guy who doesn’t do the things that traditionally earn a lot of money, but he’s worth it, especially to Boston

[Javier]

Apart from his defense, Crawford's base running skills is also really good.  He was 2nd in MLB in Runs/Times on Base, behind Drew Stubbs percentage wise.  48% to 47%.  Crawford will probably cruise to a a good streak of a few 120+ Runs Scored per season.  Obviously, "Runs" is a lot more team oriented but he is an above average base runner which increases that number. 

[OG Hack Wilson]

Apart from his defense, Crawford's base running skills is also really good.  He was 2nd in MLB in Runs/Times on Base, behind Drew Stubbs percentage wise.  48% to 47%.  Crawford will probably cruise to a a good streak of a few 120+ Runs Scored per season.  Obviously, "Runs" is a lot more team oriented but he is an above average base runner which increases that number. 

his career slugging % at Fenway is .406


now that would be a great BATTING average lol

[Chamillitary Click]

You're talking about the Red Sox getting raped, yet bring up the potential Lee Yankee signing? LOL

Yeah, but Lee is the 3rd best pitcher in the league behind Halladay & Lincecum, in my opinion.

He's worth the outrageous contract. Crawford is the type of player who could very well show up flat in Boston or get off to a really slow start.

Not saying it's not a great move to get him, but still pretty big numbers.

[Javier]

Apart from his defense, Crawford's base running skills is also really good.  He was 2nd in MLB in Runs/Times on Base, behind Drew Stubbs percentage wise.  48% to 47%.  Crawford will probably cruise to a a good streak of a few 120+ Runs Scored per season.  Obviously, "Runs" is a lot more team oriented but he is an above average base runner which increases that number. 

his career slugging % at Fenway is .406


now that would be a great BATTING average lol

Don't be surprised when he puts up this line

320/375/520 

[Javier]

You're talking about the Red Sox getting raped, yet bring up the potential Lee Yankee signing? LOL

Yeah, but Lee is the 3rd best pitcher in the league behind Halladay & Lincecum, in my opinion.

He's worth the outrageous contract. Crawford is the type of player who could very well show up flat in Boston or get off to a really slow start.

Not saying it's not a great move to get him, but still pretty big numbers.

There's risk with every big  FA.  You think it's not possible for Lee to just not be as productive anymore?  And who do you think is going to be more valuable to the team?  I just found it funny that a Yankee fan is laughing at a big contract. 

[Chamillitary Click]

You're talking about the Red Sox getting raped, yet bring up the potential Lee Yankee signing? LOL

Yeah, but Lee is the 3rd best pitcher in the league behind Halladay & Lincecum, in my opinion.

He's worth the outrageous contract. Crawford is the type of player who could very well show up flat in Boston or get off to a really slow start.

Not saying it's not a great move to get him, but still pretty big numbers.

There's risk with every big  FA.  You think it's not possible for Lee to just not be as productive anymore?  And who do you think is going to be more valuable to the team?  I just found it funny that a Yankee fan is laughing at a big contract. 

Of course, but I'd say there is a bigger risk with Crawford than Lee.

& if Lee pitches like he has then he will be more valuable to the Yankees than Crawford to the Redsox.

Without Crawford, the the Redsox could still be as good or better than the Yankees because the lineup was strong enough when they signed Gonzo & their staff could all have great years; Beckett, Lester, Buckholz, Lackey. The Yankees have an equal lineup, but the rotation is so shakey after CC. Hughes & Burnett are coin flips every time out there & who knows how Andy will be. CC & Lee is like Randy Johnson & Curt Schilling in Arizona.

Plus they go 8+ innings a start in the playoffs. In a small series like the first round, we're going to be really tough.

[Javier]

We'll just see how the season pans out, unless there is a major injury....almost for certain that Crawford will be more valuable. 

[OG Hack Wilson]

carl crawford puts up slightly better production than Brett Gardiner


problem?  Gardiner makes 40x less now lol    (aka more $$$ to throw at Lee lol)

[Javier]

Gardner's recent two seasons has made about the same amount of money Crawford did in his first three seasons in the Majors.  That's how MLB works.