Brandon Crawford responds to Giants’ Carlos Correa signing

Jul 17, 2022; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford (35) sits in the dugout during the fourth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

The San Francisco Giants’ signing of Carlos Correa is a big boost to the organization, but is bittersweet for one member of the organization.

Longtime Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford said he would accept a position change, albeit reluctantly, after the Giants signed Correa to a 13-year deal. Crawford said he had been told he would have to change positions, and would work hard to make the transition.

“With the signing of a player as good as Carlos, our team definitely got much better,” Crawford told Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic via text message. “He’s been one of the better players in the league for years, and it’s obviously exciting to get a player of his caliber to San Francisco. That being said, he is a shortstop and since the signing the other day, I’ve been told that that’s where he’ll stay, so that puts me in a much different situation than I’ve ever been faced with in professional baseball.

“So, the rest of this off-season, spring training, and during the season, I will be working my hardest to be the best I can be at a different position and help us get back to the postseason.”

Crawford has hardly done anything wrong, and he won a Gold Glove at short as recently as 2021. However, he turns 36 in January, and the Giants were not going to pass up the chance to land a player of Correa’s caliber just to placate Crawford. They are not diminishing his contributions, but were sorely in need of a franchise player. Plus, Crawford hit just .231 last year, a down season offensively after some surprisingly strong campaigns.