Coco Crisp Traded To Royals

Coco Crisp Traded To Royals
By Tim Dierkes [November 19, 2008 at 8:48am CST]

According to Brian McRae reporting for Sports Radio 810 in Kansas City, the Royals acquired Coco Crisp from the Red Sox for reliever Ramon Ramirez. I emailed McRae to confirm, and he said, "It's a done deal." The Royals get speed and a capable center fielder, while the Red Sox receive a quality late-game reliever.

Crisp, 29, hit .283/.344/.407 in 409 plate appearances this year. His center field defense saved 26 bases over the average last year, but was two below this year (he did battle groin, hamstring, knee, and foot issues). Crisp will earn $5.75MM in '09 and has an $8MM club option with a $500K buyout for '10.

The Red Sox trim payroll here, as Ramirez is not yet arbitration-eligible. He will not reach free agency until after the 2012 season, so the Red Sox impressively acquired four years of his services. The 27 year-old posted a 2.64 ERA in 71.2 innings this year while whiffing 70. The Royals might have to add a reliever to compensate for his absence. They're also a bit heavy on outfielders at this point.

Aww dang, didnt notice this one, posted a similar article in the Sox thread. Red Sox that is.