Giants lose team legend to Cardinals in deal that will infuriate SF fans

The St. Louis Cardinals were looking for a backup shortstop for the upcoming season, and would appear as though they have found it in former San Francisco Giants All-Star Brandon Crawford.

Crawford's contract with the Giants expired this past season, and the 37-year-old has been lingering on the free agent market throughout the entire offseason with little to no interest from almost every major league ball club.

However, according to Katie Woo of The Athletic, the Cardinals and Crawford have come to terms on a free agent contract. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle had reported earlier today, that this deal could come together rather quickly. As it turns out, that's exactly what happened.

Giants lose team legend to Cardinals in deal that will infuriate SF fans

Brandon Crawford spent his entire professional career with the San Francisco Giants. During his tenure, Crawford was part of two World Series Championship teams, while also going to three All-Star Games, and winning four Gold Glove Awards.

After gaining MVP consideration in 2021, Crawford inked a two-year, $32 million contract. Unfortunately for both Crawford and the Giants, the shortstop never lived up to that deal. During his final two seasons in San Francisco, Crawford hit just .216/.293/.332.

The Giants appeared committed to Marco Luciano heading into the upcoming season. The 22-year-old had a cup of coffee with the Giants last season and is one of the Top 25 prospects in all of baseball according to MLB Pipeline. Luciano was an international signee back in 2018 and is a power-over-hit prospect.

The Giants recently signed veteran shortstop Nick Ahmed to provide some insurance in the event that Luciano struggles during his first full season as a starter in the big leagues. The Giants also have Tyler Fitzgerlad and Casey Schmidt on the roster as well.

As for Crawford, he'll be vying for a spot behind the Cardinals top young infielder, Masyn Winn. Tommy Edman's status for Opening Day is in doubt, so St. Louis wanted to be sure that they have a plan in place in the event that Winn isn't ready when the games count next month.