February 27 : The Cardinals made the deal official, announcing it today. Per , Crawford will make a salary of $2MM. February 26 : The Cardinals are reportedly in agreement with shortstop on a major league deal, pending a physical. Financial terms have not yet been reported. Crawford is a Wa serman client. The Cardinals will need to make a 40-man roster move once the deal is finalized. St. Louis has been looking for a veteran infielder who could take on the backup shortstop job. Crawford was perhaps the top unsigned player who could fill that role. Itll a suredly be a low-cost flier on the 13-year big league veteran, wholl take on a depth job for the first time in his career. Crawford has been a starting shortstop since debuting with the Giants back in 2011. The UCLA product had an excellent run over his time in the Bay Area. Crawford helped the Giants to World Series titles in 2012 and 14. He was one of the sports preeminent defensive infielders during the last decade. Crawford won three consecutive Gold Glove awards in 2015-17 and took a step forward with the bat in his late-20s. He earned a Silver Slugger in 2015 and turned in average or better offensive production in six of the eight seasons between 2014-21. Crawford inked a six-year extension over the 2015-16 offseason. That put him on track to reach free agency after the 2021 campaign. He surprisingly turned in the best season of his career that year, hitting .298/.373/.522 en route to a Johnny Pesky Jersey fourth-place finish in NL MVP balloting. The Giants kept him around for another two years at $16MM annually on an extension signed towards the end of that season. While an understandable decision during Crawfords resurgent season, the latter extension did not pan out. Crawfords offensive production plummeted beginning in 2022. He hit .231/.308/.344 two seasons ago. His production fell off further last year. The left-handed hitter put up a personal-worst .194/.273/.314 slash line in 320 trips to the plate. Crawford punched out in more than a quarter of his plate appearances for the first time in his career. Injuries have sent him to the shelf on a few occasions over the last two years. Since the start of 2022, he has had IL stints related to his left knee (twice), right knee, right calf, left forearm and right hamstring. None of those required a long-term absence, but its po sible that playing through any number of those i sues has taken a toll on his performance. The Cardinals cant expect much from Crawford offensively as he enters his age-37 campaign. Public metrics are split on how valuable he remains on the other side of the ball. Crawford isnt the elite defender he was at his peak. Statcast still grades him as a solid gloveman, giving him above-average marks every season since it began tracking in 2015. That includes an estimated four runs above average a year ago. Defensive Runs Saved has been far le s forgiving. DRS has graded Crawford as a well below-average defender two years running. It marked him 14 runs below par in 725 2/3 innings last season. Among shortstops, only and fared more poorly by that estimate. St. Louis will be hopeful of at least pa sable glovework in a rotational role. The Cards are going to turn the position to rookie . The 21-year-old struggled in a very limited MLB look at the end of last season, hitting .172/.230/.238 in 37 games. Prospect evaluators have praised his defensive acumen and power upside, though, and the Cards havent made any effort to block his path to MLB playing time. Winns presence pushed last years Opening Day shortstop, , to center field. While hes still capable of handling the middle infield, the Crawford signing will allow manager Oli Marmol to keep Edman in the outfield even on days when Winn needs a breather. It also affords the Cardinals some security in case Edman isnt available early in the season. The switch-hitter is working back from an arthroscopic right wrist procedure. Hes hopeful of being ready for Opening Day but has yet to begin taking live batting practice with le s than a month until the regular season. Aside from Edman, St. Louis didnt have a clear backup shortstop on their 40-man roster. Neither nor is a great fit there. Crawford takes that role. projects the St. Louis payroll around $182MM, pending the Crawford deal. He shouldnt add more than a couple million dollars to that ledger. As for the Giants, theyll officially bid farewell to one of the faces of the franchises recent history. It became clear towards the end of last season that things were headed in this direction. San Francisco is going to turn shortstop over to a top prospect of their own, . They longtime division rival to a minor league deal to serve as glove-first veteran depth. Crawford returned from the injured list on the final day of last season so he could receive a proper send-off from the San Francisco fanbase. Hes the final player from their 2012 and 14 World Series teams to depart the organization, although has since returned on a non-roster pact. first indicated Crawford and St. Louis were in talks. was first to report the sides had reached an agreement. reported it was a major league deal. Image courtesy of USA Today Sports. Tanner Houck Jersey