Should Coco Crisp Have Resigned With Oakland?

Wow!  Did Coco Crisp just resign with the Oakland A’s?  Well, yeah it look like he will be coming back. For those of you that don’t know or have just been on hiatus from your favorite A’s team, kind of like me, then you where thrown off guard.  Crisp apparently resigned with the A’s for $14 million.   Now, for those of you who knew that already, and I am sure there are many of you, shouldn’t you be asking yourself why?

I personally was surprised, due to the fact that Billy Beane and the A’s organization said that no one would be safe from trade or otherwise.  Although, mercurynews.com is reporting that, “General manager Billy Beane said he hoped all along to re-sign Crisp even as he traded away several other key players that signal the A’s are looking beyond 2012.”

He was offered a pretty good deal with the team.  The 32 year old centerfield, switch hitter signed a $14 miilion 2 year deal that will pay him $6 million in 2012 and $7 million in 2013 on top of getting $250.000 if he happens to not play at the top of his game and is traded.

I believe this deal is definitely a reason to stay, however I am guessing that there may be another reason for Crisp to stay and be excited about the near future with the A’s.  Talk is swirling that Oakland is getting one step closer to moving the team down to San Jose, a plan that has been in the works for two years if not more.  The prospect of a new stadium will not only attract new fans, unless you are a San Francisco Giants fanatic, but will also attract the likes of some pretty serious players that will want to play for the A’s, Crisp can broaden his horizons with the team and of course maybe line his pockets for more money.

Again, why wouldn’t you want to stay with this team?  Well the the drawback for Crisp would be that the A’s hold a $7.5 million option for 2014 but can exercise a $1 million buyout.  I guess that is not really a big deal breaker to leave the team though.

Speaking of playing, he did do well with the team last season.   Crisp, hit .264 last season and tied for the American League, lead with 49 stolen bases, he also had great defensive plays as well, especially for a team that did very poorly on errors, a whopping 124.  Then there is the problem, that almost all of the up and coming All Star players, such as pitchers Andrew Bailey Gio Gonzalez and Trevor Cahill were given the old heave ho.  Will these trades mean Crisp and the team will be able to contend with the likes of the Rangers and Yankees?

Until we get a clearer picture of what the team will be made up in the next month or so, we do know one thing, that we get to hold on to our beloved Coco Crisp for the foreseeable future.  A good thing for both fans and for Oakland.