Coco Crisp

The A’s aren’t looking to make major changes this summer, but they won’t deal their young players even if they do make trades, GM Billy Beane told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. The A’s haven’t ruled out making moves, but they want to build up a base of young talent.

"That's one of the reasons we acquired Conor Jackson,” Beane said. “Not just for right now, but he's a younger player and his age makes him very attractive."

Two A’s veterans, Ben Sheets and Coco Crisp, have been tabbed as potential trade candidates, but Slusser says Sheets “isn’t stirring up interest” and points out that Crisp has barely played. ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reported that the A’s can afford to cover some of the $5.4MM remaining on Sheets’ salary in order to obtain better prospects. The right-hander has a 3.79 ERA, less than one hit allowed per inning pitched and twice as many strikeouts as walks since the Blue Jays lit him up for nine runs on May 2nd.

Even contenders are hesitant to deal young players, so it would be surprising if the A's, who are 10.0 games out of a playoff spot, decided to trade young talent away.

When Ben Sheets signed a one-year, $10MM contract with Oakland in January, it was widely assumed that the A's would try to flip Sheets to a contending team at the trade deadline, provided that the right-hander proved he was healthy and returned to his past form.  Sheets has made 15 starts and had some ups and downs in performance (a 4.66 ERA, 1.65 K-BB ratio), but was still seen as a candidate to be moved in July.

Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com, however, reports that barring a "compelling" offer, the Athletics intend to keep Sheets for the remainder of the season.  The club likes how Sheets has acted as a mentor to their young pitchers and his eight-figure contract isn't too much of a burden on the payroll. 

Since Sheets doesn't even currently project to be a Type-B free agent under the most recent Elias rankings, it would seem unlike the A's to just let him walk as a free agent after the season.  It's possible the club thinks they could re-sign him at a lower price, but a healthy Sheets is bound to attract the attention of several teams over the winter. 

Rosenthal also notes that Coco Crisp could be dealt, but Oakland "will need to be motivated to move" the veteran outfielder.  Rosenthal argues that Crisp's $5.75MM option for next season fits into the club's budget, but Crisp has battled injuries for the last two seasons and has just a .719 OPS since 2006.  If the A's can't move him at the deadline, it seems more likely that Crisp would be bought out for $500K.