Written by Dave Tobener at Bloguin
The San Francisco Giants went into the offseason with money to spend and holes to fill. It’s a combination with the potential to make it an exciting winter, and yesterday they spent some of that money.
Only it wasn’t on an ace starting pitcher like Zack Greinke or an outfielder like Jason Heyward. Instead, the Giants took care of one of their own: they signed Brandon Crawford, fresh off of a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger award, to a six-year extension worth $75 million.
The deal makes sense for the Giants for a few reasons. For one, it buys out Crawford’s two remaining arbitration years and removes any potential bad feelings that might have arisen from a hearing. It also takes care of his first four free agent years, basically giving Crawford a four-year, $60 million contract starting in 2018. By the time that year rolls around with the way salaries are skyrocketing, that number may look like a relative bargain.
The move fits perfectly with the Giants MO: reward their own guys handsomely before trying to find players in free agency. It also locks up an important piece of their home-grown infield for a good chunk of time, and lets any free agent pitcher who may be considering San Francisco as a destination know that he’d have the best defensive shortstop in the National League behind him for the next six years at least.
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