Athletics' Crisp: 'Seeing some of the players we lost was hard to swallow'
Oakland Athletics outfielder Coco Crisp will see no shortage of new faces once spring training rolls around in a little under a month.
While Crisp spent the winter preparing for his 14th season in the majors, his general manager, Billy Beane, occupied his time by tearing down and rebuilding the roster - making eight trades and one signing.
Though Beane has become notorious for making bold moves, it came to a shock to many members of the A's when he traded All-Star third baseman Josh Donaldson to the Toronto Blue Jays in November.
"It's been a roller coaster," Crisp told John Hickey of the Oakland Tribune. "When they traded away Josh Donaldson, that was a tough one to swallow. He's the best player on the team, and now he's gone. It's tough, and it's tough on the fans."
The Athletics are set to feature an entirely new infield, though Crisp will find some familiarity with those flanked beside him in the outfield as both Josh Reddick and Sam Fuld return from last season.
| POS | Player (2014) | Player (2015) |
|---|---|---|
| C | Derek Norris | Stephen Vogt |
| 1B | Brandon Moss | Ike Davis |
| 2B | Eric Sogard | Ben Zobrist |
| 3B | Josh Donaldson | Brett Lawrie |
| SS | Jed Lowrie | Marcus Semien |
| LF | Sam Fuld | Sam Fuld |
| CF | Coco Crisp | Coco Crisp |
| RF | Josh Reddick | Josh Reddick |
| DH | Alberto Callaspo | Billy Butler |
If there is one thing that Crisp has learned over his five years playing in Oakland, it's that no player on the roster is untouchable. While it will be tough for the veteran to get over the loss of some of his teammates, he remains fully confident in his GM.
"Seeing some of the players we lost was hard to swallow," Crisp said. "You grow bonds with these guys. But all the moves that Billy has made have put together a pretty good team. We will be pretty competitive."