And the hits keep on coming for Carl Crawford.

According to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, Carl Crawford could miss upwards of three months due to an elbow injury he developed while rehabilitating from offseason wrist surgery.  This is yet another setback for Crawford who is trying to not only rebound from the worst season of his career, but also make good on the seven year $142M contract he signed in December 2010.  This isn’t the worst case scenario for Crawford who recently met with the dreaded Dr. James Andrews, but it’s certainly less than optimal.  Needless to say, the Marlon Byrd trade is looking smarter by the day.

While I’m not willing to judge Crawford’s contract until it’s been completed, it’s looking more likely it will turn out to a net loss for the Red Sox.  I still have a lot of faith in Crawford’s abilities as a player, but it’s really tough to imagine him providing nearly $140M in performance value over five-plus seasons during his 30s.

An announcement from Red Sox management should be released shortly.

UPDATE:  According to Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal, Crawford has been diagnosed with a sprain of his ulner collateral ligament.

UPDATE 2:  Mike Silverman of the Boston Herald reports that the Red Sox expect Crawford to be ready for action around the All-Star break.  In fact, June might even be possible, presuming his elbow responds to the platelet rich treatment he was given recently.