Coco Crisp believes the Oakland A’s are intentionally keeping him on the bench in order to avoid his vesting option for next season kicking in, and you can imagine how the veteran feels about it.
After he did not play in Monday’s 5-2 loss to the Texas Rangers, Crisp could no longer remain silent.
“I’m extremely hurt, the way things are being handled,” he told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. “I’m not calling anyone names, but this is really frustrating and disappointing. This has been my favorite organization going back to when I was a kid, because of Rickey Henderson, and I’ve enjoyed playing here so much, and I’ve put it all out there. … Up until recently, it’s been tremendously enjoyable.”
Crisp needs to appear in 130 games this season for his $13 million option for 2017 to kick in. The 36-year-old has played 93 games, which means he needs to play in at least 37 of Oakland’s 43 remaining games. At this rate, that seems highly unlikely.
Crisp, who is hitting just .239 this season, has been riding the bench against left-handed pitchers. The switch-hitter has also not been used as a pinch-hitter by manager Bob Melvin.
“This is shady. Everyone else is getting used off the bench,” Crisp said. “BoMel can’t even look me in the eye right now.
“Let me play my way out, and if I get hurt, I get hurt, but if I’m in good health, I should get the chance to play. I’m healthy, I’m playing hard, and this has surprised me. This calls their integrity into question. It’s very sad.”
Steve Comte, Crisp’s agent, says he advised Coco to take the high road but called the outfielder’s lack of playing time “a joke.” Crisp said he is unsure if he wants to play beyond this season if his option doesn’t vest.
The past month or so has been extremely frustrating for Crisp. Between not getting a lot of playing time and the incident that got him suspended, it’s no wonder he is debating calling it a career.
