Allen Craig hasn’t been traded yet. And perhaps he won’t be.
Craig has been a common subject of trade rumors because of the Boston Red Sox’s crowded outfield, yet manager John Farrell tossed cold water on the speculation before Monday’s spring training game against the St. Louis Cardinals — Craig’s former team — in Jupiter, Fla.
“We fully expect him to be on this team,” Farrell told reporters. “There’s nothing to expect otherwise.
“He’s the one in particular that we just said, ‘Let’s get the appropriate number of at-bats that spring training would provide, and we’ll go from there.’ His attitude has been great. He understands the situation that he’s in. He understands that, coming off last year, we had to make decisions to improve the team, and he’s got to compete for at-bats. He’s more than willing to embrace that.”
Obviously, Farrell wouldn’t just come right out and say the Red Sox are shopping Craig even if the outfielder/first baseman indeed was available. But it’s apparent Boston is in no rush to trade Craig despite there being little clarity surrounding his role for the 2015 season.
“It’ll be a challenge to get him the number of at-bats he’s accustomed to,” Farrell said. “That being said, I’m putting myself in the wrong position if I’m worrying about trades or speculating who might be (traded).”
Craig is a logical trade candidate given that Hanley Ramirez, Shane Victorino, Mookie Betts, Rusney Castillo and perhaps even Daniel Nava seemingly are ahead of him on Boston’s outfield depth chart. Plus, the Red Sox have a pretty good/gritty first baseman in Mike Napoli, so it’ll be difficult for Craig to find playing time there.
Craig has a rather impressive track record outside of 2014, though, so the Red Sox aren’t quite ready to pull the plug on his Boston tenure simply because of a roster crunch in the middle of March.
“We’ve always felt that despite what he went through last year, there’s a productive hitter here, one that’s got a proven track record,” Farrell said. “Timing is better. He’s in good shape. The foot issue is behind him. We expect him to regain his ability to hit.”
Craig said upon arriving at spring training that he’s motivated to prove 2014 — a season in which he hit .215 with eight homers, 46 RBIs, a .594 OPS and 113 strikeouts in 126 games — was a fluke. The former eighth-round pick raked with the St. Louis Cardinals from 2011 through 2013, so maybe the Sox will stand pat and see how things play out despite the noise surrounding the team’s outfield situation.
Thumbnail photo via Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports Images
