Devil Rays Might Trade Crawford

If the Devil Rays are that desperate for pitching, they may be forced to trade Carl Crawford, rather than Rocco Baldelli. The Devil Rays and White Sox have worked over the past couple months on possible deals this off season that involve Jon Garland and Carl Crawford, according to industry sources. Crawford has been a great player for the Devil Rays and you would hate to see them give him up, but Crawford might be a free agent after the 2008 season, but he has an option which will be exercised wherever he is. He batted .315 with 11 HR, 80 RBI, and 50 SB, numbers that would definitely make the White Sox better. The White Sox would probably rather get rid of Contreras, but Garland is the more attractive player. They cannot trade Buehrle because he has a no-trade clause, Javier Vazquez also has one but put up great numbers this year so they wouldn't trade him anyways, John Danks will probably get a shot, along with young players Gavin Floyd, Gio Gonzalez, and maybe Jack Egbert. GM Kenny Williams has good relations with the Phillies and Brewers and could work a trade with the Brewers for Bill Hall, or a trade for Michael Bourn, who has great speed and the potential to have a decent bat. I think Williams will be able to acquire a solid outfielder, probably between Hall, Crawford, or Bourn. But here's a twist. What if he acquired Hall to play shortstop and then went after Crawford or Bourn for the outfield. Because the free agent market is so weak this year, expect trades to becoming more frequent.