Dodgers Release Carl Crawford

The Dodgers have released outfielder Carl Crawford, as MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick tweets. Recently designated for assignment, Crawford obviously did not draw any interest on the waiver wire.

Crawford is still owed $35MM or so on the ill-fated contract he first signed with the Red Sox, after all, and there was no chance that was being taken over by another organization. That cash will remain on the Dodgers’ books, with other teams free to add Crawford at the league minimum rate.

Though the waiver clearance was fully expected, it would be surprising if there isn’t at least some interest in the 34-year-old veteran. He has struggled this year, and continues to deal with a variety of maladies, but Crawford still owns a useful .278/.320/.400 batting line in over 1,000 plate appearances over his four seasons in Los Angeles.

That’s solid league-average hitting, which is all the more appealing when combined with his other skills. Crawford continues to move well on the bases when healthy. And he’s long been viewed as a quality outfielder. The recent returns from defensive metrics aren’t as promising, but he’s only been seen as a negative in a small and injury-riddled sample.

The fleet-footed Crawford certainly isn’t the player he once was, but as an essentially free asset he makes for an interesting addition to the open market. Organizations interested in a left-handed-hitting outfielder could do a lot worse, at a much higher cost, so he could be pursued relatively broadly for a just-released player.