3 Red Sox contracts we were happy to see end, and 2 we’re still eager to see expire

3) Red Sox contract we were happy to see end: Carl Crawford

Before there was Sandoval and Ramirez eating up payroll, the Red Sox had Carl Crawford. A longtime rival as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays, Crawford looked like an entirely different player when he got to Boston. His last season with the Rays included a .307/.356/.495 slash line with 47 stolen bases, 90 RBI, and more mouth-watering numbers. How could they resist signing him away from the Rays?

Crawford received a ridiculous seven-year deal from the Red Sox for $142 million. Spoiler alert: he would not play for seven more seasons on any roster.

In his two years with the Red Sox, Crawford would appear in only 161 games. Ironically matching the number of games Sandoval played for Boston, it was a precursor for future bad Red Sox contracts.

Crawford hit .260/.292/.419 in what equated to a full season. He played in only 31 during the 2012 season before a blockbuster of a deal helped Boston fans escape this deal. On August 25, 2012, the Red Sox sent him, Josh Beckett, Adrian Gonzalez, and Nick Punto with some cash to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a massive salary dump deal. It turned out to be the smartest thing the Red Sox could do. They won the World Series the very next year.