Forst, A's 'optimistic' Crisp will contribute to outfield situation in 2016
At 36, Coco Crisp's time an an everyday MLB outfielder are most likely a thing of the past. Various nagging injuries led to him appearing in just 44 games for the Oakland Athletics in 2015, as bone chips in his elbow and a persistent neck issue led to surgical procedures and an abundance of missed time.
A's general manager David Forst addressed the A's outfield situation at the General Managers Meetings in Florida last week, and sounded optimistic that Crisp would be able to contribute on a semi-regular basis in 2016. As quoted by Brian McTaggart of MLB.com to that effect:
"When he doesn't play for a month, that's when he feels the best," Forst said. "I think we're going to go through the offseason assuming he's working hard, but he always comes in feeling great. It's the baseball activity that aggravates his neck. We'll just remain hopefully optimistic on Coco that he can get to a place where playing every day doesn't set him back."
The 2015 A's languished in last place in the AL West and have some things to address if they want to get back to respectability next season. However, a relatively solid core of outfielders led by Josh Reddick and Rookie of the Year nominee Billy Burns isn't a 'problem area' at the moment, something Forst also addressed:
"[Crisp's health] creates some uncertainty, but luckily the group of [Josh] Reddick, [Billy] Burns and [Mark] Canha we feel very good about, and [Jake] Smolinski did a really nice job as well," Forst said. "We have some coverage there."
As a result of all this, barring any unexpected moves the A's should presumably have a strong enough outfield group to off-set any more setbacks for Crisp, who is set to make $11 million in 2016.
