Brandon Crawford’s SF Giants departure is Farhan Zaidi’s fault, veteran says

Brandon Crawford says his 13-year tenure with the San Francisco Giants came to an end because of Farhan Zaidi.

The team’s president of baseball operations reportedly gave Crawford an offer he could easily refuse: “Earn the last spot on the roster like anyone else could as a non-roster invitee,” Crawford told The Athletic in a story published Friday. The beloved Giants player felt he had no other choice but to sign elsewhere this offseason. The 37-year-old signed with the St. Louis Cardinals on a one-year deal Wednesday.

The Athletic story notes that the conversation with Zaidi was so underwhelming that it made the player wonder if the executive had any personal problems with him. This was after Crawford said he’d take a supporting role mentoring the team’s young infielders like Marco Luciano. Ultimately, Crawford called Zaidi’s offer to “earn” a roster spot “the nail in the coffin.”

For his part, Zaidi denied any personal issues with Crawford and complimented the 37-year-old when he spoke with The Athletic. He also suggested that the veteran’s mere presence would put unnecessary pressure on the young players.

“I just think we expect our younger players will have their ups and downs, as young players do, and having the greatest shortstop in franchise history on the bench… it was just going to create a dynamic where it was going to be harder for our young players to play with a margin of error,” Zaidi told The Athletic.

There was also the idea that Crawford wasn’t versatile enough to remain on the roster, although the veteran dismissed that notion since he was willing to move spots when the ill-fated Carlos Correa deal was in place.

This all just shows the brutal reality of a professional athlete’s twilight years. In an ideal world, Crawford would play with his hometown team until he thought it was time to hang up his cleats, and retire as a Giant. In reality, he’s one of the oldest players in baseball with nagging injuries and a rather sharp statistical decline. Still, he probably deserved better, given that he was also one of the cadre of Giants veterans who seemed less-than-pleased with the Gabe Kapler era, telling the Athletic it was “not very fun at all and not how I wanted to go out.”

Given the very front office that wouldn’t guarantee him a roster spot also hired Kapler, it’s easy to understand his frustration.