Ed Price posted them a few minutes ago an as good as Crawford has been, even he could not crack the Type A list. That would almost assure the Rays pick up Crawford’s $10,000,000 option for 2010 and hope he gets that Type A grade next off-season. The Type A free agents are the ones that require the new club to sacrifice their 1st round draft pick and give the losing club a supplemental 1st round draft choice which is the best case scenario for the Rays should they not be able to work out a new deal with Crawford over the next 11-12 months. R.J. Anderson at DRaysbay.com did a terrific breakdown of the likely scenarios for Crawford in the coming months for those interested in the lengthy but very informative read. He raises the very valid points that the Rays have already missed the best opportunity to trade Crawford and I agree with him the best course of action is to sit tight in 2010 and hope Crawford attains Type A status because the return in any potential trade for Crawford will decline by the month in the 2010 season because the situation favors the suitor rather than the owner.
Gregg Zaun and Brian Shouse have options that could be picked up, but only Zaun has a legitimate chance at that; Shouse is easily replaceable by Randy Choate. The decision on those options, as well as the likely news on Crawford’s should come sometime this week.
