Crawford 'surprised' by trade rumors

Carl Crawford responded Wednesday to reports of trade talks that have linked his name to the Marlins. Crawford, who is 4-for-7 with four runs, one run batted in, a walk and three stolen bases since his return from an elbow injury, said he was surprised to hear the rumors.

“Yeah, I was surprised,” Crawford said. “I’m still surprised right now, but there is nothing you can really say about that.”

A potential deal reported by USA Today's Bob Nightengale [1] involving Crawford and a prospect being dealt to the Marlins for Hanley Ramirez and Heath Bell would involve $239 million in guaranteed contracts. Even with the rumors swirling, Crawford said that he would not let it bother him.

“I hadn’t really heard too much about [the potential trade], but there is really nothing to say about it,” Crawford said. “You just have to get ready to play every day. Those kinds of things come up and you just shrug it off.”

Bobby Valentine, on the other hand, said that he was not surprised to hear a trade rumor involving Crawford.

“I’m not surprised at anything,” Valentine said. “The way stuff is made up and blown up, I’m never surprised.”

Like Crawford though, Valentine was not concerned about the trade rumors being a distraction for the left fielder, saying that the rumors come with the territory of being a professional baseball player.

“This is the world that we live in and regretfully, you’ve got to survive in it,” Valentine said. “I think Carl is tough. He is going to be fine.”

In other Crawford news, Officer John Perrault of Leominster, who directed a racial slur at Crawford during a rehab start in Portland, was put on paid leave Wednesday and could face more severe punishment.

“It surprised me that he was a police officer,” Crawford said. “It’s disappointing and all of that kind of stuff but like I said, I just want to put that stuff behind me and not even worry about that anymore.”

For more on the Red Sox, visit weei.com/redsox [2].