As much as Los Angeles has become Utopia for Carl Crawford and all other former Red Sox malcontents, the outfielder whose thin skin was punctured repeatedly in Boston may be stuck taking his bellyaching elsewhere.
Crawford, who went to the Dodgers in the August 2012 trade that cleared the Red Sox’ books and set them up for their World Series win this year, is on the trading block along with fellow L.A. outfielders Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. All three are talented, (moderately) productive outfielders, but with the Dodgers also having Yasiel Puig on hand, that’s four outfielders for three spots — and the three veterans weren’t injured enough to free up spots as much as expected last year (c’mon, Crawford, do your part).
Rosenthal says the Dodgers are telling teams, “If you’re interested in one of them, make us an offer.”
Crawford has only sung Los Angeles’ praises since being freed from Boston, where he quickly fulfilled predictions of not being able to handle the spotlight, reacting negatively to criticism and underproducing on a day-to-day basis. Finally recovered from his numerous injuries, he batted .283 when he got into regular playing time with the Dodgers last year. But he hit just six home runs and recorded just 15 stolen bases in the 116 games he played.
Kemp and Ethier, who have both been with L.A. their entire careers, also have drawbacks for teams looking to snag an extra outfielder. Kemp played just 73 games last year and batted .270 with only six home runs. Ethier, who has a .288 career average, had 12 dingers and played 142 games.
Both, however, come without the guaranteed whining if things don’t work out.
