Former White Sox third baseman Joe Crede is one of about 3,000 baseball players who are currently out of work with pitchers and catchers slated to report to camp by the end of the week. Of course, unlike other players like Manny Ramirez, Adam Dunn, and even Orlando Hudson, Crede's lack of a new contract isn't that much of a surprise.
After all, he's missed quite a bit of time over the last two seasons thanks to recurring issues with his back, and back trouble doesn't just go away overnight, so teams are concerned about it. Which is probably why it's not a good idea for Crede to be asking for $7 million to play in 2009.
Joe Crede is seeking a base salary of closer to $7 million than $5 million, the Star Tribune has learned, and that could decrease the likelihood that the free-agent third baseman lands with the Twins.
Crede made $5.1 million last season with the White Sox, and Twins officials seem reluctant to guarantee even $5 million to a player who was limited to 47 games in 2007 and 97 in 2008 because of back injuries.
So just to be clear, even though he's missed 180 games the last two seasons, Crede feels he deserves a $2 million raise. After hearing this it should come as no shock that his agent is Scott Boras, who seems to be spending this baseball offseason in some magical fantasy land where it's still the year 2000 and teams are printing their own money.
The San Francisco Giants are the only other team who seem legitimately interested in Crede, and have even gone as far as making an offer, but probably not anywhere in the $7 million range. I'd guess more like $3 million with incentives based on playing time. Of course, that just means it's only a matter of days before Boras comes out and says that some mystery team from Mars is willing to give Crede the $7 million, but that Joe wants to give Earth teams a chance to match it before departing for the red planet.
Joe Crede Wants $7 Million originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Mon, 09 Feb 2009 12:39:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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