Veteran outfielder Coco Crisp is heading back to his original team, as the Oakland Athletics traded him to the Cleveland Indians in exchange for left-handed pitcher Colt Hynes.
The Athletics announced the deal after the Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com) first reported it Tuesday night. Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reported Crisp will join the Indians on Thursday and be added to the roster on Friday.
According to Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball, the Indians will only pay for around $500,000 of Crisp’s salary, and the A’s are responsible for the rest.
Crisp is hitting .234 with 11 home runs, 47 RBI and seven stolen bases, which represents a solid bounce-back campaign after an injury-plagued 2015 season that saw him hit just .175 in 44 contests.
The 36-year-old veteran possesses some pop, has decent speed and is a slightly above-average defensive player in left field in terms of defensive runs saved, per FanGraphs.
Crisp also has 31 games of playoff experience, including a World Series ring, which he won with the Boston Red Sox in 2007. Cleveland traded the Los Angeles native to Boston in 2006 after three-plus seasons.
While Crisp has enjoyed some decent years since, including time with the Kansas City Royals and A’s, he has never returned to the form he displayed during his final two campaigns with Cleveland. He hit .299 with an average of 16 homers, 70 RBI and 18 stolen bases per year in that span.
Although the Indians aren’t expecting that type of production, Crisp provides outfield depth. Rajai Davis, Tyler Naquin and Lonnie Chisenhall represent a below-average starting outfield to begin with, while Brandon Guyer and Abraham Almonte sit behind them.
Michael Brantley is out for the season due to a right shoulder injury, while Almonte is ineligible for the postseason due to an 80-game suspension he served for performance-enhancing drugs.
That left Cleveland with limited outfield flexibility entering the playoffs, but Crisp helps alleviate that.
He won’t be a difference-maker in winning the World Series, but having a player with his level of big-game experience should be a big help for a young Indians team.
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