Carl Crawford is going to miss another year of baseball at some point:
But he did acknowledge there is a possibility he will need surgery “at some point” on his left elbow, which has kept on the disabled list since the start of the season.
“Probably at some point, because it’s one of those deals. It is what it is,” Crawford said. “So probably at some point it’s going to go out on me.”
Asked if he had thought about having surgery before the elbow goes out, Crawford replied:
“Thought about it but at this point if I can play, I think they want me out on the field. So I’m just trying to do everything I can to get back on the field.”
That surgery would be of the Tommy John variety. The recovery period is shorter for a position player, but of course it carries the risk of missing a whole season. Given that Carl already played one poor season and missed more than half of a second one, he’s going to need to play really well when he’s back with the Red Sox to make this contract worthwhile.
Here’s a song for Carl and Vernon Wells.
Hat tip, Hardball Talk.
“… he’s going to need to play really well when he’s back with the Red Sox to make this contract worthwhile.”
Ummm.
I’d like to see one of your signature probability graphs for that, David. I think it would look like one of those early May graphs of the batting leader’s chances of hitting .400 for the season.
The Sox are spending $142 M on Carl for seven years. Last year he gave them .2 WAR. This year is a washout. If he loses another year to surgery, he’ll have four left to make good on the contract. His age 28-29 season was really good, providing Tampa with $30 M in player value. So if he beats that prime, career year significantly for four years in his mid-thirties, he’ll be worth his contract. Talk about a long shot…
It just seems so obvious that he should get the surgery now. Write off this season.
James » I agree. If he gets the surgery now, he’s likely ready for the start of the 2013 season at full strength.