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Veteran Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford wanted to return to the organization he called home for 13 seasons for the 2024 MLB season, but it appears the feeling wasn’t exactly mutual.
After signing a one-year contract with the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday, Crawford spoke exclusively with The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly on his decision to sign with St. Louis and why continuing his career with a team other than the Giants wasn’t his preferred outcome.
“The bottom line is he wasn’t the only person whose (opinion) matters,” Crawford told The Athletic, referring to Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi. “So I went with a team that gave me a major league contract. The Cardinals have a long history and tradition. I have admired and respected the way the Cardinals have played throughout my career and the way the organization has been run.
“But the bottom line is that I wanted to go back to the Giants. Obviously, that was the ideal situation for me.”
Crawford told The Athletic that he discussed a return to the Giants with Zaidi in a face-to-face meeting during the MLB General Managers’ Meetings in November in Scottsdale, Arizona, and made it clear that he was not seeking an everyday role and was willing to continue mentoring young San Francisco infielders like Marco Luciano, Casey Schmitt and Tyler Fitzgerald.
“I had no expectations of playing time,” Crawford shared with The Athletic. “Just help out and be a kind of veteran mentor to Luciano, Casey Schmitt, (Tyler) Fitzgerald, continue to be that guy to Thairo (Estrada), whoever can help in that capacity. With that I came to him.”
Zaidi’s lukewarm reception to Crawford’s pitch initially led the veteran shortstop to question whether the decision was personal, but he told The Athletic he still held out hope for a reunion later in the offseason, when the Giants didn’t add any shortstop depth. .
After the Cardinals made their contract offer, Crawford’s agent, Joel Wolfe, contacted Zaidi one last time about a potential contract for his client.
“They told me I could earn the last roster spot like anyone else could as a non-roster invitee,” Crawford explained to The Athletic. “That was the nail in the coffin.”
Zaidi, in a phone conversation with The Athletic, rejected the implication that personal animosity could have influenced the Giants’ decision to part ways.
“He has been one of our most popular and important players and we negotiated a two-year extension with him (after his excellent 2021 season) that everyone was very happy with,” Zaidi told The Athletic. “So any idea that there was a concern about coexistence just doesn’t match the reality that we’ve both been here for the last five seasons and we’ve had some really great times.
“He has been an important member of this team and also a true leader in the clubhouse.”
Zaidi confirmed Crawford’s willingness to play in a reduced, versatile role, but explained how the team wanted its young infielders to have the freedom to experience the ups and downs of an MLB season without having a franchise icon in Crawford on them. his shoulders on the bench. .
Crawford explained to The Athletic that he understood where Zaidi was coming from, but shared that he didn’t want an everyday role, even if prospects like Luciano struggled.
“With the whole ‘standing on Luciano’s shoulder’ thing, I feel like I could have made it publicly evident that that wasn’t the case,” Crawford shared. “I don’t even want to play every day because physically I’m not sure I can do it anymore with how much I’ve been hurt the last two years. The transition to a role player makes sense. So I feel like I could have avoided that.”
Crawford wanted to return to the Giants and was willing to accept a new role, even after his previous two seasons with the team, which included a frustrating lack of communication with previous manager Gabe Kapler’s staff.
“A lot of it was due to injuries and not playing well, but part of it was … lack of communication, not playing for three days in a row without being told a single word about it,” Crawford told The Athletic. “It just wasn’t a very fun environment. I loved the players. We had a good clubhouse for the most part. But the way it happened wasn’t very funny.
“Thinking about my career in general, I would have been fine if I hadn’t received any offers. But at the same time, it wasn’t how I imagined the last few years would be. I imagined having a little more fun. So that influenced (in wanting to continue playing).”
A handful of Giants veterans, including starting pitcher Logan Webb, have appreciated the new culture and approach to the game that manager Bob Melvin and his coaching staff have brought to San Francisco.
Unfortunately for Crawford, he won’t be able to experience those changes, but he will likely look forward to facing his former team this season as a member of the Cardinals.
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