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Athletics Sign Coco Crisp

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The Athletics signed center fielder Coco Crisp to a one-year, $5.25MM deal today.  He has a 2011 club option for $5.75MM with a $500K buyout.  MLBTR first reported the agreement early Sunday, while Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle added the financial details today.  Crisp had been talking to the Padres as well.

Crisp, 30, tallied only 215 plate appearances with the Royals this year due to shoulder injuries.  He had surgery on both shoulders during the summer and plans to be ready for Spring Training.

Given his salary, Crisp figures to be penciled in as the starting center fielder in Oakland.  Scott Hairston, Rajai Davis, and Ryan Sweeney would battle for playing time in the other two spots, unless someone is traded. 

Olney On Mets, Chapman, Duchscherer

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ESPN.com's Buster Olney says the Mets would still like to sign Jason Bay, but are considering alternatives in case the left fielder's demands don't match their budget. Instead of signing Bay, the Mets could spread their resources and sign a number of the many available free agents. The Mets could obtain lots with the $15-22MM they have available, so Olney envisions some possible solutions. Here are a couple more hot stove notes:

  • Aroldis Chapman should sign for more than the $15.67MM that Stephen Strasburg obtained, even though scouts aren't uniformly impressed with the Cuban lefty and wonder if he might end up as a reliever. Chapman is on the open market, while Strasburg could only negotiate with one team. Other clubs tell Olney that the Yankees didn't have much of a presence at Chapman's workout last week.
  • Olney hears that the A's could bring Justin Duchscherer back. The right-hander may sign soon.

Odds & Ends: Vazquez, A’s, Orioles, Marlins

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A few links…

  • ESPN's Keith Law rated David Ortiz signing with Boston as the best free agent pickup of the decade. Darren Dreifort's deal with the Dodgers was the worst, and he called the Erik Bedard trade the biggest of the decade. That last one is certainly debatable; I prefer the Bartolo Colon for Grady Sizemore (plus others) deal.
  • Interestingly, Yankees' GM Brian Cashman noted today that the club tried to acquire Javier Vazquez from Arizona after 2005 and the White Sox after 2008, “but we just didn’t match up," reports Chad Jennings of The Journal News.
  • Bruce Jenkins of The SF Chronicle says that the A's are winning the battle of the Bay Area this offseason. Of course, the regular season is the battle you really want to win.
  • Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports that Orioles' president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail said "My guess is I wouldn't think we'll be doing anything anytime soon, which is not to be interpreted as not doing anything between now and Sarasota." The O's finalized the Garrett Atkins deal today.
  • MLB.com's Joe Frisaro writes about the Marlins' first base situation, noting that there's certainly no shortage of in-house options.
  • Bill Ladson of MLB.com tweets that the Nationals continue to show interest in righty John Smoltz, "but they are not willing to break the bank to get him."
  • Coco Crisp's physical with the A's was delayed because of travel issues, so the announcement of his signing will have to wait says Susan Slusser of The SF Chronicle. 
  • Maury Brown at The Biz of Baseball takes a look at the growth of player salaries over the last decade.
  • Here's some news on a different kind of contract negotiation: According to the AP (via ESPN) MLB and the umpires hope to have a new agreement in place tomorrow, which will allow for greater flexibility with postseason assignments.

Odds & Ends: Nationals, Podsednik, Duchscherer

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Links for Monday…

  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets that the Nationals still have money left to sign Matt Capps, assuming he wants to go there. Morosi expects Capps to decide on his next team this week.
  • In a separate tweet, Morosi notes that the Tigers are only interested in Scott Podsednik if it's a one-year deal. Detroit has no interest in Rick Ankiel.
  • ESPN's Jerry Crasnick reports that Justin Duchscherer has received contract offers from three unnamed teams, and he expects to decide on his 2010 home within a week.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the Royals are interested in free agent outfielder Brian Anderson on a minor league deal.
  • Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle sees Rajai Davis and Ryan Sweeney retaining starting jobs in the wake of the impending Coco Crisp signing.  Slusser suggests a possible reduced role or trade for Scott Hairston.  FanGraphs' Dave Cameron doesn't understand the move, noting that Davis and Sweeney are similar to Crisp.  Crisp's physical will take place tomorrow, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney. 
  • Matthew Carruth of Lookout Landing explains that Mariners fans fully understand the dangers of Milton Bradley.  The Seattle Times' Geoff Baker reflects on Carlos Silva's time with the club.
  • Patrick Newman joins FanGraphs with a look at Japanese baseball imports and exports for 2010.  Speaking of which, new Met Ryota Igarashi would like to be Francisco Rodriguez's set-up man.

Odds & Ends: Gonzalez, Bradley, Hamels

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Let's have a look at some miscellaneous Sunday links….

  • The Tigers purchased the contract of catcher Andy Bouchie from the Long Beach Armada. Bouchie, 24, was a seventh round pick by the Brewers after his junior season at Oral Roberts University, but was released due to catching depth in the Milwaukee system. He hit .290 with 7 home runs and 45 RBI in 59 games in the Golden Baseball League this year.
  • Jon Paul Morosi explains why the Padres should wait until July 31 to trade Adrian Gonzalez.
  • Larry Stone offers some optimism for Seattle fans with concerns about newly-acquired Milton Bradley in a nice article, reminding us that Bradley has had non-problematic stops over the course of his career. Stone quotes Eddie Guardado, Bud Black, and Ken Macha, all of whom support Bradley.
  • Scott Lauber writes that amidst the Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee pandemonium, it's easy to forget about Cole Hamels, but the Phillies haven't. They still see Hamels as a top-of-the-rotation arm and are confident in his ability to rebound from a forgettable 2009.
  • ESPN.com's Buster Olney writes that Oakland's potential deal with Coco Crisp reflects the value the A's place on defense.
  • In his usual lengthy Sunday column, the Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo focuses primarily on the Red Sox' moves, past, present, and future. He provides at least one interesting hot stove note though: Mark DeRosa's asking price has come down, and Cafardo wonders if the Mets could sign the infielder and play him at first base.
  • Cafardo also mentions that, while plenty of teams are interested in Chien-Ming Wang, the Yankees hope to match any final offer the right-hander receives.
  • Newsday's Ken Davidoff can't see any other teams taking a chance on Mike Lowell unless he exhibits good health in Spring Training.
  • In a separate article, Davidoff examines the next move for Johnny Damon. Davidoff lists the Braves, Rays, Cubs, and Mets as possible destinations, but concedes there are roadblocks in each case.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports looks at the remaining names on the closing market, concluding that there are too many arms and not enough teams in need of a closer.
  • Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun says there's nothing wrong with any of the Orioles' recent signings, but that they aren't the big splashes fans may have hoped to see.

Dodgers Sign Jamey Carroll

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The Dodgers signed veteran infielder Jamey Carroll to a two-year deal, as first reported by ESPN's Buster Olney.  Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports specified the contract's value as $3.85MM.  Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times says there's another $500K in incentives.  Carroll reportedly drew interest from eight teams this winter.

Carroll hit .276/.355/.340 in 358 plate appearances with Cleveland last season, playing mostly as a second baseman but also seeing significant time at third base and in the outfield.  His versatility makes him particularly attractive to the Dodgers, since they stand to lose multiple infielders to free agency and Carroll would fill any number of holes on the bench or in the starting lineup should Blake DeWitt struggle as the everyday second baseman.

Where did the cash-strapped Dodgers get the money for Carroll?  Hernandez notes that the infielder's funds came from the money GM Ned Colletti saved by shipping Juan Pierre to the White Sox.  Colletti quickly spent about half of the Pierre savings on Carroll.

This post has been rewritten by Tim Dierkes.

Olney On Gonzalez, LaRoche, Holliday

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ESPN.com's Buster Olney asked an "independent evaluator" to guess what the Red Sox would have to give up to obtain Adrian Gonzalez. Olney's source says the Padres need to acquire Ryan Westmoreland and Casey Kelly, plus other highly-touted prospects. Gonzalez is under control for two more years at $10.25MM. He'd probably be worth $40MM-plus over two years on the open market, so the Padres have some serious bargaining power. Here are the rest of Olney's rumors:

  • The A's are interested in Adrian Beltre, but "only in an Oakland economy size financial package."
  • Some teams bristle at the idea of paying eight figures for Beltre.
  • Some teams have been put off by Adam LaRoche's asking price. 
  • The Orioles checked out of the Matt Holliday derby when they learned that he's asking for considerably more than $75MM. 

Padres, Crisp Talking Deal

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Agent Steve Comte tells MLB.com's Corey Brock that Coco Crisp and the Padres are discussing a potential deal.

"We see a real fit there, possibly," Comte said, adding that Crisp would like to sign before the holiday.

Tim heard yesterday that Crisp, who says he's healthy after surgery on each shoulder, would prefer a one-year deal with the Padres or A's. As for other teams, the Cubs have some interest and the Royals are open to bringing him back. Some considered the Red Sox and White Sox suitors, but they've both added outfielders this week in Mike Cameron and Juan Pierre.

Earlier in the month, ESPN.com's Buster Olney suggested the outfielder could sign a one-year deal worth $3-4MM. Crisp wouldn't be a steal at that price, but we know the Padres have at least some money to spend.

Odds & Ends: Orioles, Dodgers, Beltre, Pujols

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Let's round up some Thursday evening links….

Cust Hopes To Sign By Christmas

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Free agent outfielder/DH Jack Cust hopes to sign by Christmas, reports ESPN's Jerry Crasnick.  He's expected to have two or three offers from which to choose.

Crasnick finds the A's, Rays, and Mets unlikely to sign Cust despite varying degrees of interest.  Instead, the ESPN scribe considers the Royals, Mariners, and Tigers to be "possible fits."  The issue with the Mariners: it'd be out of character for them to endure Cust's ugly defense in left field, and signing him as a DH would reduce Ken Griffey Jr.'s role.

Crasnick does not mention the White Sox, Rangers, or Blue Jays, though those teams could technically make room for Cust at DH.

Given that Cust played his first full season at 28 in '07, the concern is that his downward offensive trends of the last two years will continue.

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