Oakland paid a surprisingly steep price to re-sign Coco Crisp yesterday, giving the 32-year-old outfielder $14 million for two seasons, and I’m equally surprised to learn that the normally budget-conscious Rays finished runner-up for Crisp.
Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that Crisp ultimately chose to remain with the A’s because he liked playing on the West Coast and “he thinks the team has more potential than people might think.”
The latter part seems pretty unlikely, because right now I can’t see any way the A’s aren’t a terrible team in 2012, and of course Slusser also notes that “the A’s came in with a better offer at the last moment.”
Crisp is certainly capable of being worth $14 million over the next two seasons, but I’m just not sure how he makes sense for the A’s at that price. And his agent may have had a similar thought, because Crisp’s two-year deal includes a $250,000 bonus if he’s traded.
