Could Boston Red Sox outfielder Carl Crawford be a fit with the Los Angeles Dodgers? Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times didn’t think the idea was too preposterous to offer up as a trade possibility this weekend. According to Shaikin, the Dodgers may have to flash their new money to acquire talent and Crawford could be on their radar.
After his reign with the Tampa Bay Rays as one of the most dynamic players in baseball, Crawford fled for Fenway Park and $142 million. Crawford figured to be another cog in an already impressive Red Sox lineup.
Unfortunately for Crawford and the Red Sox, the outfielder wasn’t able to find his stroke last season. Over his 130 games and 506 at-bats in 2011, Crawford only managed an OPS of .694.
Initially hoping to bust out of the gate and prove naysayers wrong in 2012, Crawford has instead been sidelined by wrist and elbow injuries. At this point, Crawford is expected to be out until at least June and possibly the All-Star break.
Shaikin knows the Dodgers will look to make a splash this coming offseason. The team is under new owners and has money to spend. While LA would do well to lock up its own, including Andre Ethier and Clayton Kershaw, the free agent market may not have much to offer in the way of talent this winter.
A major trade also doesn’t appear to be an option for the Dodgers, whose minor league system lacks in depth of talented players.
For these reasons Shaikin believes the club may be forced to take on large contracts if they want to acquire talent in the near future. Crawford certainly qualifies as a large contract, and if he is able to turn it back on after he returns from the DL Shaikin believes the Dodgers could look to acquire the veteran.
Initially I was hesitant to put much stock into this speculated transaction. However, it does make sense for the Dodgers to use their influx of funding to their advantage.
It’s not out of the realm of possibility for LA to take on bad contracts, but it remains to be determined how quickly the Red Sox are willing to give up on Crawford.
For more on the Dodgers and Red Sox be sure to check out Lasorda’s Lair and BoSox Injection.
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