San Diego Padres: Team signs former All-Star Allen Craig

After winning a World Series and earning an All-Star nod with the St. Louis Cardinals, Allen Craig hasn’t appeared in the majors since 2015. He now looks to shake off the injury bug and return as a member of the San Diego Padres.

The San Diego Padres have come to terms with a free agent not named Eric Hosmer. Former World Series champion and MLB All-Star Allen Craig will be joining the Padres on a minor league deal. The deal was first reported by Chris Cotillo of SBNation.com.

The pickup is strictly a low-cost, no risk, depth signing for the Padres. No one is expecting Craig to return to his 2011-2013 form. Instead, he will look to get his career back on track after suffering a disastrous fall from being a reliable offensive threat.

As a member of the St. Louis Cardinals, Craig was a 2013 All-Star selection and helped the Cards win a World Series in 2011. Between 2011-2013 Craig hit 46 home runs, 79 doubles, and put up batting averages of .315/.307/.315 (6.7 combined WAR).

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During the 2014 season, Craig was traded, along with RHP Joe Kelly, to the Boston Red Sox for RHP John Lackey. Craig was slashing just .237/.291/.346/.638 through 97 games for the Cardinals at the time of the trade. He would appear in just 65 games for Boston, spending the majority of his time in AAA Pawtucket.

He made $11 million last season, playing in just 47 games in AAA. Boston will owe him $1 million in 2018 after buying out his contract in June of last year. 

According to Dennis Lin of the San Diego-Union Tribune, the deal includes an invitation to spring training.

The 33-year-old Craig will have stiff competition in spring if he wants to make the team. Chances are extremely high that we won’t. However, all jokes aside, I am glad to see Craig get one more chance. Should he not produce and find himself released mid-March, the signing remains a no-harm, no-foul situation.

Next: Olney thinks the Padres will sign Eric Hosmer

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