2012 MLB Free Agency: Why Oakland Should Re-Sign Coco Crisp

Coco Crisp has been about as controversial a player as the Oakland Athletics could have in 2011.

While he has been fairly steady offensively, he has been hurt for significant amounts of time during his stay in Oakland, having only played in 211 games in his two seasons there.

For now, his stay in Oakland is up.  The only question left is whether or not the A's will try to re-sign him.

Here's why they should.

No Rush for Prospects

The A's have a very deep farm system with two of the best outfielding prospects, Michael Choice (left) and Michael Taylor.

Choice, the No. 2 prospect in the A's system, is most likely going to start next season at Double-A. He'll at least be there by the time summer rolls around.

Taylor, the older of the two Michaels, looks to crack the A's big league roster coming out of spring training as he will undoubtedly get an invite.

By re-signing Coco Crisp, the A's won't have to worry about rushing two of their best prospects up to the big leagues, expecting an immediate impact.  Oakland will be able to bring them along slowly and allow them to fully develop. 

Crisp Allows Options

With Crisp, the A's essentially have two leadoff options between he and second baseman Jemile Weeks. They are the perfect table setters for the A's offense as Crisp also displays a fair amount of power for a guy known for his speed.

On top of that, he allows options in the outfield.  He can play center or left field.  If the A's put him in left, it will finally allow Ryan Sweeney to prove his worth as a great defensive center fielder.

Having Crisp in Oakland gives manager Bob Melvin many options to lead the A's back to the postseason.

A Cheaper Option

The list of free agent outfielders this offseason is small and potentially headlined by an injury-prone Grady Sizemore (left), should the Cleveland Indians not decide to exercise his club option.

While Sizemore is more talented than Crisp, Sizemore is also more prone to injury, having only played in 104 games in the past season.

The next best is Nick Swisher and he will most likely be re-signed by the New York Yankees.  At the least he would ask for more money than the A's can afford.

The rest of the free-agent class isn't very spectacular, so why wouldn't the A's try to re-sign a guy who has played well within their system in Coco Crisp, rather than gamble on someone else?

Preemptive Moneyball

Moneyball, as it's depicted in the movie and book of the same name, has come and gone in Oakland. Billy Beane is now working a sort of preemptive Moneyball.

Instead of scouring the free-agent market for overlooked players to replace the production of star free agents on their way out, he signs mid-level players as free agents to one year deals.  

Then, if they produce at a high level and the A's aren't playing well, he can ship them out to contenders for prospects.

If they don't produce as expected, they become free agents at the end of the season and everyone moves on.

It's a low cost, potentially high reward system. This is exactly what the A's can do with Coco Crisp in 2012.

Crisp is a quality player who, when healthy, has been an integral part of the A's offense.  Given his veteran presence and his output on the field, Beane should try hard to bring Crisp back to the O.co Coliseum.