Sources: Tigers have big interest in Crawford
Much of the early Carl Crawford talk centers around the Red Sox and Angels.
But don’t rule out the Tigers making a strong run.
The Tigers, too, are deeply interested in Crawford as a free agent, according to major-league sources.
Crawford, in fact, might make a greater impact for the Tigers than he would for any other club.
Defensively, the Tigers would benefit greatly by pairing Crawford in left field with Austin Jackson in center. The two would cover an enormous amount of ground, providing an edge at spacious Comerica Park.
Offensively, Crawford’s speed also would be an immense asset. His 105 career triples are the most among active players, and he likely would produce extra-base hits at a higher rate at Comerica than he did at Tropicana Field.
Crawford, 29, is the most prized position player in this year’s free-agent market. The Tigers already have re-signed third baseman Brandon Inge and are expected to re-sign shortstop Jhonny Peralta.
Nationals first baseman Adam Dunn is another free agent that the Tigers have liked in the past -- they pursued him at the trade deadline and would view him as a DH.
-Ken Rosenthal
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As a Tiger fan I thought that the last player the Tigers should bother with this off season would be Crawford, but after reading that the Tigers are interested (if this at all true)is very exciting. Rosenthal makes a great point that Crawford would make more of an impact with Detroit than other teams and paring Jackson/Crawford in the outfield would be huge, not to mention the spacious Comerica Park outfield where Crawford would only benefit in regards to triples/doubles. Again, if Rosenthal's information is correct then this is a very compelling write up.
