Carl Crawford designated for assignment, Dodgers recall Austin Barnes

LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers have finally cut the cord, designating outfielder Carl Crawford for assignment. This removes Crawford from the 40-man roster, and effectively ends his time with the team.

Austin Barnes was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City to take Crawford's place on the active roster.

"That’s always a tough one," said Roberts before Sunday's game. "I think for Carl, and myself, the organization, it’s one of those things where you look at the player — and Carl’s had a great career and 14 years and had a lot of great moments, and I know he was proud to be a Dodger and he is gonna be missed."

"Where we’re at right now and where this organization wants to go, you got a lot of young guys coming. Carl was in that position 14 years ago. And so there are guys who have to get opportunities that need opportunities to make us better, and he completely understood that."

Crawford still has approximately $13,606,557 remaining on his $20.75 million salary this season, and is due $21 million in 2017, with the Dodgers likely on the hook for nearly all of that $34.6 million remaining. The club has 10 days to try to trade Crawford, who won't be claimed off waivers because of the salary, or release him.

The most likely scenario is that Crawford is released, then signs elsewhere for the minimum salary. Any amount he would make in major league salary through 2017 would offset what the Dodgers have to pay.

Crawford hit .185/.230/.235 in 30 games this season.

He hit .278/.320/.400 in 320 games since joining the Dodgers in Aug. 2012, but also had five trips to the disabled list in his 3½ seasons with Los Angeles, missing 199 of a possible 579 games (34.3 percent) on the DL.

"I think the biggest thing for us right now is, going with an eight-man bullpen and a short bench, I think the added versatility was something that had a lot of value for us," said Andrew Friedman, Dodgers president of baseball operations.

"As we're constantly evaluating our roster and looking ahead, I think we had just got to a point with Carl -- he's the type of guy that his entire career, he has worked real hard and played really hard. Ultimately that takes a toll on your body. We just felt like we had gotten to a point where this makes the most sense for all parties involved."

Barnes was hitting .306/.413/.375 with eight doubles and 12 steals in 37 games this season with Triple-A Oklahoma City. In a previous stint with the Dodgers this year, Barnes was 2-for-15 (.133) with two walks in six games, including one start at second base. "