Two days after making his season debut for the Red Sox, the outfielder was linked to the Miami Marlins in reported trade discussions.
The chatter is taking place just a year and a half since Crawford signed a seven-year, $142 million deal.
“I was surprised,” Crawford said about the rumors. “I’m still surprised right now. But there’s really nothing to say about it. I just have to get ready to play every day. When those kinds of things come up, you just shrug it off.”
According to reports, the Marlins broached the idea with the Red Sox, offering to include either Hanley Ramirez or Jose Reyes in a deal. Another report suggested the Marlins would be willing to include Heath Bell, who lost his closer’s job this season.
The proposed blockbuster would be breaking the bank for both teams, in a matter of speaking. Reyes is currently in the first year of a six-year, $106 million deal, while Ramirez, a former shortstop that converted to third base this season, is poised to earn roughly over $45 million over the next three seasons.
As rumors swirl around between both parties, Crawford said he’d plan to block it out on the diamond.
“I just go out there and play,” Crawford said. “I’ll try to do what I’ve been doing the first two games and don’t even worry about that stuff. It’s not the first time I’ve been involved in [trade rumors], so I know how to handle that. I’m not going to try to do anything else.”
Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington has publicly denied the rumors, expressing happiness over Crawford’s return. Manager Bobby Valentine also downplayed the chatter around Crawford, citing the nature of the trade deadline for the speculation.
“The way stuff is made up and blown up, I’m never surprised,” Valentine said. “And to the next guy whose name is going to come up tomorrow and the other guy who is going to come up the day after tomorrow. This is the world that we live in and regretfully you’ve got to survive in it. I think Carl’s tough, he’ll be fine.”
Crawford agreed with Valentine’s assertion. For his part, the four-time All-Star simply classified the conjecture as the byproduct of playing in a large market such as Boston.
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