The Red Sox made quite an investment in confidence (and money) in Craig by assuming the $26.5 million guaranteed owed to Craig after this season. A good Boston organization wouldn't shrug and take on that contract in a cavalier manner unless it had a reason to believe in a Craig revival.
On the flip side, GM John Mozeliak obviously wouldn't have traded Craig if they thought he could be easily fixed and be reconditioned into hitting the way he used to. Yes, a big part of this maneuver was clearing the brush in right field to make rookie Oscar Taveras a virtual full-time starter. And yes, the Cardinals have other outfield prospects making their way to the bigs. But if Craig was hitting like the Allen Craig we saw from 2011-2013, none of that would have mattered much; he would have remained a core lineup presence. And for a productive hitter, Craig's contract was a bargain. But the Cardinals quickly jumped at the chance to get rid of that money, which tells us that they don't see much hope of Craig finding his lost form.
Were the Cardinals premature to cut the cord? The answer to that will come in the future, after we see how Craig performs in Boston. And when it comes to evaluating position players and hitters Mozeliak has made some mistakes including the trades for shortstop Khalil Greene, infielderMark DeRosa and the signing of utility man Ty Wigginton.
But in studying the Mozeliak history with evaluating hitters that are already on the team and about to become free agents or loom as potential trade pieces, I was struck by one thing: the GM has an exceptional record in knowing when it's time to let go.