What about Brandon Crawford as the backup shortstop to Marco Luciano? Last year seemed to be Crawford’s farewell because of his decline, but he still had great range and defense and a bit of thump when he was well rested. I think he’d be a great backup, and a great mentor to Luciano and the younger guys. Is it just that he wouldn’t accept a backup role? All the possibilities you’ve talked about don’t seem to be any better than just getting Crawford back if he’d be willing. Would love your thoughts. Thanks for these great podcasts!
I think all Giants fans love Brandon Crawford and will always have great respect for him. Unfortunately, there is nothing left in the tank, imho. His last two years were mediocre at best. Defense has always been his strong suit, and we saw significant decline in 2023. The backup SS has to be a player who can meet the standard for MLB utility IF, at all three positions.
Whenever FZ talks about a backup to Luciano he goes out of his way to describe a utility player who can also play SS. I too would love the idea of the greatest SS in SFG history being there to mentor Luciano in 2024 but it appears to me that FZ is being pretty careful to always describe the potential backup SS in a way that cannot be construed as "bringing back Brandon Crawford."
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What about Brandon Crawford as the backup shortstop to Marco Luciano? Last year seemed to be Crawford’s farewell because of his decline, but he still had great range and defense and a bit of thump when he was well rested. I think he’d be a great backup, and a great mentor to Luciano and the younger guys. Is it just that he wouldn’t accept a backup role? All the possibilities you’ve talked about don’t seem to be any better than just getting Crawford back if he’d be willing. Would love your thoughts. Thanks for these great podcasts!
I actually agree with that, but the sense I get from beat writers is that that door was shut (whether from one or both directions I can't say).
I think all Giants fans love Brandon Crawford and will always have great respect for him. Unfortunately, there is nothing left in the tank, imho. His last two years were mediocre at best. Defense has always been his strong suit, and we saw significant decline in 2023. The backup SS has to be a player who can meet the standard for MLB utility IF, at all three positions.
Whenever FZ talks about a backup to Luciano he goes out of his way to describe a utility player who can also play SS. I too would love the idea of the greatest SS in SFG history being there to mentor Luciano in 2024 but it appears to me that FZ is being pretty careful to always describe the potential backup SS in a way that cannot be construed as "bringing back Brandon Crawford."