SF Giants legend Brandon Crawford released by Cardinals after disappointing season

SF Giants legend Brandon Crawford and the owner of many of the franchise’s historical shortstop records, was released on Tuesday by the St. Louis Cardinals according to a team announcement. Matt Carpenter and Luken Baker were added to their 26-man roster in corresponding moves, while former top prospect Jordan Walker was optioned to Triple-A.

SF Giants legend Brandon Crawford released by Cardinals after disappointing season

Life outside of San Francisco just hasn’t gone according to plan for Crawford. He signed a 1-year, $2 million deal with St. Louis over the offseason in a move that surprised many who thought that he’d retire a Giant.

With Masyn Winn cementing himself as the Cardinals’ shortstop of the future, playing time has been extremely sporadic for the Giants' longtime shortstop. He’s only been afforded 80 plate appearances over 29 games, and his .169/.263/.282 slash line in that span amounted to a 58 wRC+, a career-low and 42% below a league-average hitter.

If another team were to offer a roster spot to Crawford, they’d only owe him a pro-rated portion of the league minimum, which would be subtracted from what the Cardinals currently still owe. That’s not especially likely for the 37-year-old at this juncture, though, with his struggles and limited upside probably not worth blocking younger options already within other organizations around the league.

A minor-league deal would probably be the only realistic path for Crawford to continue his career at this point, and it’s uncertain whether or not that’s something that Crawford would be interested in.

Back when he signed with the Cardinals in February, Crawford made his reasons clear for wanting to continue his career despite a lack of interest from the Giants in re-signing him. “My kids were probably the biggest motivating factor,” Crawford remarked at the time, “but [my 2023 frustration] was another one -- coming back after a tough year injury-wise and on the field… I’m coming back to be as healthy as I can and contribute.”

It's disappointing that this season may be ending on an even more sour note for the Giants legend. It would be a shame if he doesn’t get an opportunity to have something of a farewell redemption tour because that’s certainly something Crawford deserves for all his accomplishments and accolades. Plus, frankly, baseball is just more fun when DJ BC Raw is on the field.