A’s may need to dig into the minors for depth

O.CO COLISEUM — The Oakland Athletics have dealt with numerous injuries this season. Jarrod Parker and AJ Griffin have undergone Tommy John surgery and are out for the year.

Now, Coco Crisp may fall to a similar fate, though his injury appears much less severe.

Crisp has missed seven games in 2014 after signing a contract extension late in the offseason and a possible stint on the DL is looming. Halfway through Oakland’s first game Wednesday, Crisp made a leaping catch against the center field wall, leaving him dazed and on the ground for around five minutes.

The team disclosed the injury as a strained neck, though the severity is unknown.

Fourth outfielder Craig Gentry replaced Crisp after the starter smashed into the wall, back squared into the chain-link and plywood wall that is hidden by a slender bit of tarped foam.

Crisp has appeared in 28 of Oakland’s 34 games, batting .260 with a .760 OPS (on base percentage, plus slugging percentage).

Crisp did not speak with media following Wednesday’s doubleheader, but manager Bob Melvin opined that he should be out for at least a couple of days.

Should Crisp require a stint on the disabled list, the A’s would have two options to choose from in their minor league system.

One, Nick Buss, was claimed by the A’s off waivers on Sunday, May 4th, after being abandoned by the Dodgers minor league system.

Just last season, Buss led the Pacific Coast League in RBI’s (100), and hit 13 homers.

The other Alternative is Shane Peterson, who is currently hitting for a .298 batting average with the Sacramento River Cats, the A’s triple-A club.

Peterson is only 25, Buss 27 years old, which could be the deciding factor.

On one hand, there’s the more experienced Buss with a knack for clutch hitting. On the other, there’s a younger guy that the club may want to check out at the next level.

Buss is the only one with major league experience, eight games total where he only reached base three times.

Whatever happens, the decision doesn’t need to be immediate. Oakland can take a wait-and-see approach, checking in on Crisp in a few days. If he hasn’t made the desired progress, they can backdate the DL stint to Wednesday.

---

Follow @SFBay and @JLeskiwNFL on Twitter and at SFBay.ca for full coverage of the Oakland Athletics.