How All Star Shortstop Brandon Crawford Could Help The Phillies
PHILADELPHIA, PA — As the Phillies look for help on the margins to put an already elite team over the top, legendary San Francisco Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford could be an unusual but perfect fit.
Free agent Crawford, who will be 37 on Opening Day, is at the tail end of a stellar career that has seen him win two World Series rings, four Gold Gloves, and a fourth place finish in the 2021 NL MVP balloting as the Giants everyday shortstop for over a decade.
2023 saw a sharp downturn for Crawford, who struggled at the plate and in the field. He still thinks he has something in the tank, and projections paint him as a victim of bad luck in 2023 and have him recovering at least some of his old form. Advanced metrics support this hypothesis, as his average exit velocity (89.3 miles per hour) and hard hit percentage (43.2 percentage) in 2023 were well above both his career average and the league average.
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The Phillies do not need an everyday shortstop, with arguably the game’s very best in Trea Turner enshrined there for the next 10 years. They do, however, need two things: defensive versatility and a third baseman who can hit right-handed pitching.
Alec Bohm has vastly improved his defense, and hitting as a full time third baseman, he’s still an above average regular. But when he hits left handed pitching, he’s a borderline superstar, with an .892 career OPS (on base plus slugging percentage). Against righties, that number falls to a well below average .667.
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Crawford may not be a Gold Glove shortstop anymore, but he’s only three years removed from his 2021 award and he’d likely grade out as well above average at the hot corner, were he open to the transition. He struggled hitting against both lefties and righties in 2023, but he has a career .726 OPS against right handers.
All that said, there’s no indication that the Phillies are considering even a part time platoon for Bohm, and it should also be noted that Crawford has spent his entire career in San Francisco and it would be reasonable to assume he wants to finish it there.
The Phillies finished 2023 one win away from their second consecutive World Series berth. This team is already great, and the front office knows it: resigning Aaron Nola back in November to a six-year, $172 million contract has been the only major move the team has made the entire season. The team could reasonably return every single starter and contend with the exact same lineup. The front office will need to get creative to make meaningful improvements, and the addition of Crawford, a veteran with proven postseason success, would be just that.
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