A’s depth to be tested with Coco Crisp reportedly needing elbow surgery
Despite signs to the contrary, the Oakland A’s remained hopeful that outfielder Coco Crisp would be ready for opening day. Unfortunately, those hopes all but faded late Wednesday night following an exclusive report from the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser.
According to Slusser, Crisp’s ailing right elbow will require more than just rest. It’s believed he’ll soon undergo surgery to remove a bone spur and chips. If that’s the case, Crisp will begin the season on the disabled list and miss anywhere from 6-to-8 weeks.
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Not great news on its accord, learning that the captain of the outfield and longtime lead-off hitter might be out of the lineup until June. When coupled with reality that Josh Reddick will also begin the season on the DL and miss a few games with an oblique strain, Oakland’s depth, particularly in the outfield, will be tested early.
As it stands, the healthy returning options include Sam Fuld and Craig Gentry. The A’s will also keep 25-year-old Billy Burns, who emerged this spring with a .397/.444/.597 slashline and four stolen bases. There’s not a lot separating those players though talent wise. The offensive upside is limited over the course of a full season, but they each do bring versatility. Ben Zobrist, who was acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays, provides another option for Bob Melvin. Zobrist is comfortable and usable anywhere in the infield and outfield, so that guarantees Melvin won’t have to sacrifice too much offense every day in his outfield.
Quite frankly, the Zobrist acquisition could prove to be Billy Beane’s most important in a winter that also saw him add Billy Butler, Ike Davis and Brett Lawrie to the lineup. We’re already seeing the potential value of Zobrist’s versatility in the field. He’s a guy who can also be plugged in several spots in the batting order without dragging the lineup down. In fact, in his last two seasons under Joe Maddon, Zobrist hit everywhere but eighth while producing 22 homers, 70 doubles and a solid .273 batting average over 303 games.
He’s simply a player the manager can pencil in anywhere and know exactly what he’s getting, which has to be a comforting feeling.
Of course, but we shouldn’t be too shocked that Beane came in prepared to potentially absord these early seasons injuries. His strong suit has always been providing his managers with the necessary talent to piece together competitive teams, even when conventional wisdom suggests it’s unlikely. His skills in that department have been on full display this offseason, as he turned over one-third of his lineup — trading Josh Donaldson, Brandon Moss and Derek Norris — in order to restock depth, particularly with his starting pitching.
Beane is simply a master of maneuvering, but with more moving parts than usual this season, the jury is still out in regards to making a fourth straight postseason appearance. A strong 21-9-2 Cactus League record provides hope, but that same hope wasn’t enough to keep Coco Crisp on the field.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
