Indians to acquire Coco Crisp from Athletics

The Cleveland Indians have a deal in place to acquire outfielder Coco Crisp from the Oakland Athletics, MLB Trade Rumors' Steve Adams reports on Tuesday. 

In return, the Athletics received left-handed pitcher Colt Hynes, they announced Wednesday. 

​Crisp has full no-trade status because he has played 10 years in Major League Baseball and has played at least five years with his current team. He has provided his consent to a deal, Adams reports. 

Cleveland has a good collection of outfielders already on the big league squad, with Lonnie Chisenhall, Tyler Naquin, Abraham Almonte, Rajai Davis and Brandon Guyer all serving a considerable amount of time in the starting lineup. Almonte, though, is ineligible for the postseason after serving a PED suspension, likely leading to the need for another outfielder. The team also has utility man Michael Martinez on hand, who may lose his spot when the team officially makes the move for Crisp. 

The loss of Michael Brantley for the season, though, was unfortunate for Cleveland, as he was a budding star in the outfield the past two seasons. He finished third in the AL MVP voting in 2014. 

Regardless, the Indians have received great value out of their tandem of outfielders, which Crisp will only add to. Coming into Tuesday, the Indians posted the third-highest team fWAR from their outfielders and the seventh-highest wRC+ among all Major League teams. 

In this trade, the 36-year-old Crisp will be going back to the team where he spent his first four seasons in the Major Leagues from 2002 to 2005.

It's likely his new stay in Cleveland won't last long, however, as Crisp has a $13 million vesting option with a $750,000 buyout for 2017.  It vests at 130 games played or 550 plate appearances this season, both of which seem out of reach considering he probably will not get a large role in the crowded outfield. This will make him a free agent at the end of the year.

In the meantime, Crisp is closing out a two-year, $22.75 million deal that pays him $11 million this season. The Athletics will be paying all but $500,000 that remains on his deal, FanRag Sports' Jon Heyman reports. 

In 434 plate appearances, Crisp is hitting .234/.299/.399 (89 wRC+) with 11 home runs and 47 RBI in 102 games. According to FanGraphs, Crisp has also been a below-average defender, making him worth a total of -0.5 wins above replacement. 

Lifetime, Crisp is a .266/.327/.402 hitter over 15 seasons in the big leagues. 

--Devan Fink

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