Report of Carl Crawford wanting out of Tampa Bay is false

With trade rumors already circulating about All-Star left fielder Carl Crawford, now there’s an apparently false, unattrccrunibuted report from the NY Baseball Digest that suggests Crawford wants out of Tampa Bay.

The NY Baseball Digest report, citing an unnamed source, stated that Crawford is upset with the Rays over picking up his 2010 option and allegedly backing out of an agreement to negotiate his potential long-term deal.

The report just doesn’t seem to have any merit, as it doesn’t match up with what both sides have been saying all along (and as recently as this week).

Crawford’s agent, Brian Peters, said earlier this week that they were still looking forward to working on a potential-long term deal with the Rays. That’s exactly what Rays executive VP Andrew Friedman said when they picked up Crawford’s $10 million option on Monday, that both sides were “very interested.”

Whether the two sides can work out a deal remains to be seen. But Crawford has shown his interest, and there have been no indications of any animosity from either side.

The report is here….. http://nybaseballdigest.com/?p=17698.

That doesn’t jibe with what Crawford said in late September, when he expressed interest in working out a long-term deal.

” I hope we can get something done, but if not I’ll just go into next season, do what I have to do and try to help the team win and go from there,” Crawford said.

About the Author

Thomas Gemkow is the editor-in-chief of TampaBayRaysFan.com. Founded in January of 2009, TampaBayRaysFan.com is a compilation of all the best of the Rays, from across the web. The website can be followed on Twitter@TampaBayRaysFan Gemkow is also the official Tampa Bay Buccaneers Correspondent for WhatTheBucs.com, a blog that is part of the FanBall.com sports blogosphere. Currently residing in Lake County, Thomas has been a local sports correspondent the St. Pete Times, Citrus County Chronicle, Ocala Star Banner & was honored by the FCCPA in 2003 for his sports and feature writing ability. You can check out his archived work at his personal blog site, ThomasGemkow.com or follow his updates on Twitter @ThomasGemkow