Oakland’s Coco Crisp a fit for the Nationals?
Swingin’ A’s Andrew Dambrauskas suggested on Friday that the Oakland Athletics could be moving on from Coco Crisp with the plethora of other available options the team has to deploy in the outfield. Crisp has played in just 13 games this season, hitting .044 with a double and a stolen base in the process.
While the ability to bench an expensive player for the good of the team is commendable, Oakland will have trouble moving their veteran outfielder should they try and trade him. Crisp is due $11-million this season and next, with a $13-million vesting option ($750k buyout) for 2017. Move Crisp straight-up in a trade would almost certainly mean covering a significant portion of his salary to facilitate such a deal, and it’s safe to say the A’s aren’t in position to cover huge salaries.
Another option for moving Crisp, though, is sending him out with another more appealing trade candidate. And with the Nationals reportedly taking interest in multiple Athletics players and struggling with depth across the board, perhaps they could be a suitor.
Jayson Werth is expected to be on the shelf until at least August, Bryce Harper is currently battling a hamstring injury (and is also prone to hurting his knee) and Denard Span has already spent time on the disabled list this season. Health is not a strong suit in the Nationals outfield, and adding another veteran bench bat into the mix wouldn’t be the worst thing on Washington’s end. The club has struggled on the base paths, something that Matt Williams voiced his desire to improve when he took over the club before 2014 (and has yet to do thus far), and adding a speedy player like Crisp could go a long way towards improving the club’s 29th-ranked 21 team stolen bases this season.
While the Nats may not be jumping out of their seats to acquire a struggling, expensive player, doing so could help cut down the potential return they would send Oakland in the way of prospects in any deal they might make. It appears Washington intends to be aggressive on the trade market this summer, and saving prospect ammunition any way they can to make more moves would naturally be of interest, even if it his them in the pocket book.
Perhaps it’s not a match made in heaven, but sending Crisp to D.C. in a deal around Ben Zobrist or Tyler Clippard could ultimately benefit both sides, specifically helping the A’s move on from a player they apparently have no intent on using in a real capacity going forward. Crisp may be a shadow of his former self, but he does still have some tools that could benefit a club like Washington, and could potentially help them land some other help in the process.