Farhan Zaidi: Brandon Crawford would be 'challenging' fit with 2024 SF Giants

As he met with reporters for his end-of-the-year press conference, SF Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi made one thing clear: Marco Luciano is the organization’s preference to be the starting shortstop for 2024.

The transition to their young 21-year-old top prospect begs the elephant-in-the-room question: where does this leave Brandon Crawford and his future with San Francisco?

A pending free agent for the first time in his 13-year career, Crawford garnered applause and affection from the Oracle Park crowd in what likely was his final game as a Giant on Sunday. But he hasn’t yet decided on whether he’ll continue playing elsewhere.

Zaidi, hoping to upgrade the shortstop position after lousy production from that spot this past season, says he wouldn’t exactly say the organization is severing ties –– or even cutting the cord –– with their former two-time World Series champion, but recognized the naturally strenuous state of affairs regarding the situation.

“It's a challenging fit,” Zaidi told reporters when asked about a possible reunion with Crawford. “I mean, we view Marco as our shortstop next year. I know that's been Craw’s position. I don't want to speak for him –– I don't know that it's appropriate to say anything beyond that publicly. I know he hasn't decided himself what he wants to do. I think that's kind of the big takeaway right now.”

The comments aren’t surprising.

If he decides to keep playing, Crawford –– who will turn 37 in January –– will likely need to find a different organization looking for a veteran presence to stabilize their infield. He’s long removed from still being considered an everyday player, but if he’s willing to take a reduced role with flexibility at different positions, his above-average defense could still bring some value to a club.

Again, it’ll all depend on how he’s feeling physically.

During an injury-plagued campaign where he played in just 93 games, Crawford slashed .194/.273/.314 with seven homers and 38 runs batted in. Among shortstops with at least 300 plate appearances, Crawford’s .587 OPS placed him second-worst in the National League behind Miami’s Joey Wendle.

He landed on the injured list three separate times in 2023 with a right calf strain, left knee inflammation, and forearm strain.

Published Oct 4, 2023

STEVEN RISSOTTO

Steven Rissotto (he/him) is an award-winning journalist who currently covers the San Francisco Giants for SFBay.ca and Giants Baseball Insider. At 19-years-old in 2021, he joined SF Bay Media as the Giants beat writer, covering games a few times a week during the Giants’ record-setting 107-win season. Along with his game story coverage he is also the host of RizzoCast, a baseball podcast he founded in 2020 that features interviews with professional and amateur baseball players, coaches, media, fans, and everyone else around the game. Past guests have included Tyler Glasnow, Bob Kendrick, Shawn Estes, Bill Laskey, Renel Brooks Moon, Dave Dravecky, Ned Colletti, Denard Span, Ron Wotus, Joe Maddon, J.T. Snow and more. He is also a co-host with Tylor Hall on the Shutdown Inning Podcast, a show focused on all the latest happenings around the baseball world. Both podcasts are available on YouTube and everywhere podcasts are found. Currently, he is a student at San Francisco State University where he is majoring in Journalism with an emphasis in print/online and minoring in education. At SF State, he is the managing editor for Golden Gate Xpress, the student-run newspaper. He was formerly a member of the newspaper at Skyline College, where he served as editor-in-chief and news editor while also writing sports and features. He was formerly a student-journalist at Archbishop Riordan High School in San Francisco, where he pitched for the baseball team and covered some of the biggest stories in campus history. This includes a new multi-sports facility on campus, the breaking news coverage of Riordan’s coed announcement and the COVID-19 pandemic. Steven is well-respected by his peers and has been honored numerous times by Student Newspapers Online, JEA, ACP, and the California Publishing Association. In 2021, he finished second in the country for Reporter of the Year for ACP among the two-year college schools.

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