Release from Cardinals could be end of the line for three-time All-Star

The St. Louis Cardinals took a chance on a low-risk, low-reward one-year, $2M deal with shortstop Brandon Crawford in early March.

Well past his prime, the 37-year-old was unlikely to compete for a starting role, but the team was hoping that the former fourth-round pick would be a solid veteran presence for their younger infielders.

Instead, the Cardinals are on the outside of the playoff picture , Crawford is having the worst season of his career and he's, perhaps, now running out of chances to extend his MLB playing days.

The former longtime member of the San Francisco Giants was released by St. Louis on Tuesday.

Crawford had a somewhat nasty break-up with the Giants following a strong 13-year run with the organization.

He was drafted by San Francisco in 2008 and made his big-league debut in May 2011. Crawford was the Giants' Opening Day shortstop for 12 straight years and was part of a core that included former MVP catcher Buster Posey and All-Star starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner, who helped the team win World Series titles in 2012 and 2014.

Crawford is the Giants' all-time leader in games played at shortstop (1,617).

The University of California product earned his first All-Star and Gold Glove honors and won his only Silver Slugger award in 2015. Crawford won three more Gold Gloves in 2016, 2017 and 2021 and was an All-Star again in 2018 and 2021.

After a down 2019 campaign and the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, he had a resurgent 2021 and put up arguably his best offensive numbers. Crawford finished fourth in the NL MVP voting after posting career highs in home runs (24), RBI (90), runs scored (79), OPS (.895) and with his .298/.373/.522 slash line.

He had brutal 2022 and 2023 seasons in the Bay Area with .231/.308/.344 and .194/.273/.314 slash lines but has been even worse as a seldom-used player off the bench with his new club in 2024.

Crawford has played no more than eight games in a month this year and hasn't suited up since Aug. 10. He ends his Giants career with 12 hits in 71 at-bats for a .169/.263/.282 slash line with just one home run and four RBI.