The Red Sox have made their second big move of the offseason, reportedly signing outfielder Carl Crawford to a seven-year, $142 million deal. The move was first reported by the Boston Globe's Peter Abraham and quickly confirmed by Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal.
The deal is still not official -- Rosenthal says there is "still some guaranteed language to be worked out" -- and Crawford must pass a physical, but it's "close to being done." The deal will make him the highest-paid outfielder in baseball history with an average salary of $20.2 million per season.
Combined with the Adrian Gonzalez extension, that's a reported $296 million the Sox have agreed to pay in the past three days.
At Over The Monster, they're "shocked," and a little wary of the huge contract.
While Carl Crawford has the "young player" type of skills that don't tend to decline as quickly, seven years is still a long contract, and at $20 million per year, the Sox are putting a heavy investment in a player whose best skill is limited by their home park. Sort of the opposite of the Adrian Gonzalez deal.
Additionally, since Crawford is a Type-A free agent, the Red Sox will have to surrender a first-round pick.
Boston has been after Crawford the past couple weeks, but the Jayson Werth deal with the Nationals indicated to many that Crawford would be too expensive to land. Apparently not. The free agent outfielder also reportedly met with the New York Yankees on Wednesday.
Crawford has spent his entire nine-year career in Tampa Bay, hitting .296/.337/.444. The four-time All Star has led the A.L. in stolen bases four times, and in 2009 he set a career-high with 60 swipes. This likely gives the Red Sox an Opening Day outfield of Crawford, Jacoby Ellsbury and J.D. Drew.
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