The A's have made a flurry of trades since the end of the 2011 season, but made a move to solidify both their offense and outfield defense with Thursday's announcement that the team agreed with Coco Crisp on a two-year deal.
Comcast SportsNet California broke the news of the deal on Tuesday. The agreement is for two years, at 14 milliontotal with a club option for a third year. According to the source who spoke exclusively with Comcast SportsNet California, the two years and 14 million are guaranteed, and the clubsoption for the third year is for 7.5 million. If the club decided to let Crispgo after the second year, it would have to pay a 1 million buyout.Crisp, a career .275 hitter, hit .264 with eight homers and54 RBI with 49 stolen bases in 136 games in 2011. Crisp provided Oakland with a .314 OBP.
Official press release:
The Oakland As agreed to terms with outfielder Coco Crisp on a two-year contract through the 2013 season with a club option for 2014, the club announced today.
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Crisp batted .264 with eight home runs, 54 RBI and a career-high 49 stolen bases in 136 games with Oakland last year. He tied for the American League lead in stolen bases and led the As in hits (140) and at bats (531) while tying for the team lead in runs scored (69). Crisp became the 10th player (26th time) in Oakland history to steal 40 bases in a season and is the first Athletic to lead the league in steals since Rickey Henderson had 66 in 1998. The 32-year-old switch hitter also batted .298 with runners in scoring position and ranked 10th in the AL with an average of 8.97 plate appearances per strikeout.
Crisp was originally signed by the As to a two-year contract prior to the 2010 season and has a .269 average with 16 home runs, 92 RBI and 81 stolen bases in 211 games in two seasons with Oakland. The stolen bases are fifth most in the AL over the last two years. Crisp has played for four teams in a 10-year Major League career that includes stops with Cleveland (2002-05), Boston (2006-08), Kansas City (2009) and Oakland (2010-11). He is a .275 hitter with 75 home runs, 419 RBI and 218 stolen bases in 1043 career games.