Free-agent centerfielder Coco Crisp has agreed to a two-year deal to stay with the Oakland Athletics, ESPN reported Tuesday.

Crisp, 32, has batted .269 with 16 home runs, 92 RBIs, nine triples and 81 stolen bases in two seasons with Oakland, which is in rebuilding mode in hopes of being able to relocate to San Jose and build a ballpark. General manager Billy Beane has unloaded several star players in recent weeks, including starting pitchers Gio Gonzalez and Trevor Cahill.

More baseball: The Baltimore Orioles obtained outfielder Jai Miller from the Athletics for cash considerations. Miller was designated for assignment by Oakland on Dec. 23, after the A’s received four players for Gio Gonzalez. Miller, 26, batted 3-for-12 with a homer and two RBIs for Oakland last season after being called up in September. He played in 110 games with Triple-A Sacramento. … The Chicago Cubs agreed to a $1.15-million, one-year contract with outfielder Reed Johnson. Johnson, 35, batted .309 with five homers and 28 RBIs in 111 games for the Cubs last season.

Auto rally: A French motorcyclist was in critical condition after being found unconscious in remote sand dunes during the Dakar Rally in Argentina. Hospital officials said Sebastien Coue apparently crashed and was exposed to temperatures above 104 degrees for an unknown length of time.

Free Press news services

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Free agent center fielder Coco Crisp agreed to a two-year contract to return to the Athletics, filling one key void in the Oakland outfield heading into the 2012 season.

A person with knowledge of the negotiations on Tuesday confirmed Crisp would return to the A’s, a deal worth $14 million first reported by ESPN. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team hadn’t made a formal announcement and details were still being finalized. The contract also includes a club option for 2014.

Crisp, who generated inquiries to varying levels from about half of the major league clubs this winter, had hoped to continue playing on the West Coast. The A’s already lost left fielder and slugger Josh Willingham and right fielder David DeJesus in free agency earlier this offseason, then outfielder Ryan Sweeney was traded to the Boston Red Sox last week along with All-Star closer Andrew Bailey.

Earlier Tuesday, the A’s announced they had traded outfielder Jai Miller to the Baltimore Orioles for cash considerations. Miller was designated for assignment by Oakland on Dec. 23 after the A’s received four players in a trade with Washington that sent starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez to the Nationals.

The 32-year-old Crisp has batted .269 with 16 home runs, 92 RBIs, nine triples and 81 stolen bases in his two seasons with Oakland, which is in rebuilding mode in hopes of being able to relocate to San Jose, construct a new ballpark and become a big spender – though the San Francisco Giants hold the territorial rights to Santa Clara County. As is customary with the low-budget A’s, general manager Billy Beane has unloaded several star players in recent weeks, including starting pitchers Gonzalez and Trevor Cahill, Bailey and fellow reliever Craig Breslow.

Crisp is likely to have newly acquired Josh Reddick playing alongside him. Reddick came to the A’s in the trade with Boston last week.

The 24-year-old Reddick, who began last season at Triple-A Pawtucket before being promoted in late May, batted .280 with seven homers and 28 RBIs in 87 games for the Red Sox in 2011. He can play any outfield spot.

Crisp played his first four seasons with Cleveland three in Boston and one in Kansas City prior to joining the A’s. He appeared in only 75 games during an injury-plagued 2010 season, but made the most of his chances when he was healthy. The A’s exercised their $5.75 million option on Crisp for 2011, when he rebounded to play in 136 games and stole a career-high 49 bases and was caught stealing nine times.

The A’s went 74-88 last season but made strides after Bob Melvin came aboard as manager in June in place of Bob Geren. They haven’t posted a winning record or earned a playoff berth since being swept in the 2006 AL championship series by Detroit.

In 2010, Crisp went on the disabled list in April with a broken pinkie finger and was placed on the DL again in May with a strained ribcage muscle. Crisp broke the pinkie a second time on Sept. 18 and missed the remainder of the season.

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP)

The Oakland Athletics have agreed to a $3.35 million, one-year contract with left-hander Dallas Braden.

Leave any suggestions in the comment box.

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Former Kentucky baseball first-team All-America outfielder Collin Cowgill has been traded by the Arizona Diamondbacks to the Oakland Athletics as part of a five-player deal, it was announced on Friday night.

Cowgill was included in a trade to the Athletics, along with Diamondbacks top prospect, right-hander Jarrod Parker and Triple-A right-hander Ryan Cook. The Athletics shipped big league lefty Trevor Cahill and lefty Craig Breslow to Arizona.

A native of Lexington, Ky., Cowgill had a dynamic season in 2011 for the Diamondbacks Triple-A affiliate, the Reno Aces. Cowgill was tabbed as the Pacific Coast League Rookie of the Year for Reno after turning in a historic season, also earning PCL post-season all-star honors and Baseball America Triple-A All-Star accolades.

In 98 games for the Aces, Cowgill hit .354 (140-for-395) with 13 homers, 70 RBI, 24 doubles, eight triples and 30 stolen bases. The leading vote getter for the PCL All-Star game, Cowgill received his first MLB call-up on July 27, playing in 36 games for the National League Western Division Champion Diamondbacks. Cowgill hit .239 (22-for-92) in sporadic playing time as the right-handed bat in the lineup against left-handed pitching, totaling three doubles, one homer and nine RBI, swiping four bags. Cowgill was tabbed by Baseball America in a voting of the circuit coaches as the best defensive outfielder, the best baserunner, the most exciting player and the best outfield arm in the PCL.

Cowgill, the 2004 Kentucky High School Mr. Baseball out of Henry Clay, appeared as a pinch hitter for the Diamondbacks in the MLB Division Series, lacing a two-RBI single in his lone playoff at bat. Following the season, Cowgill traveled to Venezuela to participate in the offseason Liga Venezuela Beisbol for the Bravos de Margarita.

The 5-foot-9, 185-pound slugger will join an Athletics team that doesn’t feature any big-name outfielders, including Jai Miller, Ryan Sweeney and Michael Taylor, with Cowgill the youngest of the group. Drafted by the Athletics and famed general manager Billy Beane in 2007, Cowgill elected to return to Kentucky for the 2008 season. While with the Diamondbacks, Cowgill played in a young, talent-laden outfield that included Justin Upton, Chris Young and Gerrardo Parra.

Cowgill completed a decorated career at Kentucky in 2008 as the fifth-round selection in the MLB Draft by the Diamondbacks. A first-team All-America outfielder in 2008, Cowgill finished his UK career batting .306 (171-for-558) in 165 games, totaling 166 runs, 35 doubles, 37 homers, 140 RBI and 32 stolen bases. Cowgill’s leadership and intense approach to the game help power UK from a late-place finish in the Southeastern Conference in 2005 to the first league championship in program history in 2006. During that historic season, Cowgill hit .296 with 16 homers and 61 RBI. After sitting out 2007 due to a hamate injury, Cowgill batted .361 with 19 homers, 60 RBI and 23 stolen bases in 2008, leading UK to a school-record 44 wins.

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) – Oakland leaders are making a last-ditch effort to keep the Athletics from leaving the East Bay – apparently fearing the NBA’s Golden State Warriors and NFL’s Oakland Raiders could follow without suitable venues.

Oakland Mayor Jean Quan said Friday a letter is being sent to baseball Commissioner Bud Selig to let him know the city wants to keep the A’s. Selig appointed a committee in March 2009 to evaluate the issue facing the Bay Area’s two baseball teams, yet he has provided no timetable for when he might announce a decision. A’s owner Lew Wolff, determined to move his club south to San Jose so it can survive, and general manager Billy Beane have said they expect to hear something from Major League Baseball by next month.

“We wanted to tell you that we’re sending a letter to Commissioner Selig to make it clear that Oakland wants the A’s, that we have to viable sites for the A’s that can be delivered by 2014,” Quan said Friday. “We want them to stay.”

She insists her city still has a legitimate site near the rundown Oakland Coliseum, which is shared by the A’s and Raiders, to build a new ballpark and basketball arena, as well as a waterfront spot in the trendy Jack London Square neighborhood that could work only for a ballpark. Environmental impact reports have yet to be completed.

New Warriors owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber are considering moving their team across the bay to San Francisco, while the Raiders are dealing with a similar problem to that of the A’s since they play at the same stadium.

In December 2009, the City of Oakland unveiled three potential spots to build a new ballpark for the A’s. Wolff has his sights on San Jose and technology-rich Silicon Valley and has repeatedly said his franchise has exhausted its options in Oakland after years of trying.

The problem is the San Francisco Giants hold the territorial rights to San Jose.

Last week, a Giants-supported group called “Stand for San Jose” sued the city of San Jose claiming the city failed to perform a proper environmental review of land committed to the A’s at a drastically discounted price. The 28-page suit also claims the city violated citizens’ rights by not putting to a public vote the contractual agreement it made with the A’s to sell the discounted downtown property.

“Oakland has two sites that have political support, are financially viable and have strong sponsorship,” Quan said. “We think we’re the only city that can open a new (baseball) stadium by 2016.”

The A’s had planned to build a state-of-the-art stadium in nearby Fremont that they thought would eventually transform the small-budget club into a big spender.

But that plan, which would have been in partnership with Cisco Systems Inc., fell through because of a variety of complications – including public transportation issues. Those same issues could arise with the Jack London Square spot.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.