Oakland A's decline option on Chris Young, Kurt Suzuki

The Oakland Athletics announced that they have exercised options on Brett Anderson and Coco Crisp but have declined the options on outfielder Chris Young and catcher Kurt Suzuki.

These moves are relatively unsurprising seeing as Crisp had a solid year, posting 3.9 WAR and a league-average UZR. Young, on the other hand, struggled immensely this year; hitting .200/.280/.379 while post a just-below-average UZR. This Chris Young appears to be a shadow of the player who compiled 9.6 WAR between 2010 and 2011 in Arizona after overcoming several up-and-down seasons.

Suzuki came into the league with the A's in 2007 and remained in their organization until 2012 where he was traded to the Nationals, only to return to Oakland this year via trade. Suzuki has never put up any above-average offensive numbers, and his 2013 slash line of .232/.290/.337 was below his career average. One thing that Suzuki certainly does bring to the table is plus defense, having compiled a career UZR of +69.5 while never playing below-average defense.

It would certainly not be unthinkable for the Mets to take a flyer on either of these players. Despite an up-and-down career, Chris Young has shown the ability in the past to be an above-average outfielder. Young's option was a guaranteed $11 million, but it would seem that his value had declined, especially if outfielders such as Carlos Beltran will be seeking approximately $13 million per year. Suzuki could also serve as a suitable backup to Travis d'Arnaud and could serve as a veteran presence that could help his defensive development.