Welcome to BP Boston’s Roster Recap series! Over the next four months, we’ll be breaking down every player on Boston’s 40-man roster and many of their top prospects in order to provide a comprehensive overview of the Red Sox roster’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as what we can expect moving forward. There’s no better time than the offseason to review the best (there was some best!) and worst (there was a lot of worst!) of the past year in red and navy. You can see previous editions of Roster Recap here.
Back in 2014, anything was possible. Sure, Allen Craig was having a down year in St. Louis, but acquiring both him and Joe Kelly for John Lackey’s shambling corpse? What a deal! Coming off two very productive offensive seasons, Craig possessed significant power that supported a righteous ability to make hard contact. He wasn’t a complete masher, and he was a bit of a butcher in the field despite his versatility, but Craig looked like a valuable asset to a Red Sox team in need of good right-handed hitting.
As it turned out, Craig was hopelessly broken. Instead of thriving after his mid-season change of scenery, things went from bad to worse. He was bad in St. Louis, but he was a complete mess in Boston. The process of the John Lackey trade looked acceptable at the time, but in hindsight? The Red Sox look like they really got crushed in that deal. That’s mostly Craig’s fault. [editor’s note: how often this sentence is true …]
What Went Right In 2015
Nothing.
What Went Wrong In 2015
Where do you want to start? His moderate power appears to have evaporated into thin air. Instead of his career 18 percent strikeout rate prior to 2014, Craig has struck out 30.8 percent of the time in Red Sox colors, including posting a .239 OBP and .203 slugging percentage in 88 plate appearances last season. His work with the Red Sox cost the team 0.6 WARP, despite him only taking that limited number of plate appearances.
Exiled to Triple-A for the brunt of the season, Craig was actually an above-average hitter in Pawtucket, but his mysterious power drain was even more evident down there. He still had a slugging percentage (.350) lower than his on-base percentage (.368), but at least he didn’t do as much damage to Pawtucket’s chances of winning games as he did with the big club.
As bad as 2014 was, a reasonable bounce-back campaign in 2015 could have put him back in the team’s plans, as the Sox could have run him out there while they flailed at the bottom of the AL East. Instead, he established himself as the dead-est money on the team’s roster, which is quite the feat on a team featuring Pablo Sandoval.
Outlook for 2016
It is not good, folks. Outrighted off the 40-man roster, Craig is a non-roster invitee to Spring Training, and probably less likely to see time in Boston this year than Travis Shaw or even Bryce Brentz. It wouldn’t surprise me if Sam Travis pushes him off first base in Pawtucket, which leaves Craig twisting in the wind as a Triple-A utility guy/designated hitter. He’s unlikely to suit up for the big club again, unless he returns to 2013 form … or we enter the darkest timeline.
Acquired to be the team’s rotational 1B/LF/DH destroyer of left-handed pitching, Craig is now the worst thing a professional ballplayer can be: irrelevant.
Photo by Nick Turchiaro/USA Today Sports Images
His contract is the only thing keeping him in the organization.
Allen Craig had foot/ankle injuries when Cherington aquired him in the trade with the Cardinals. That information was/is well known . His historic offensive decline happened with such a quickness, it was difficult to watch.Was this player ever completely healthy?