BALTIMORE — The Baltimore Orioles have obtained outfielder Jai Miller from the Oakland Athletics, who parted with the part-time player for cash considerations.

Miller was designated for assignment by Oakland on Dec. 23 after the A’s received four players for pitcher Gio Gonzalez.

The 26-year-old Miller went 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, battiing .276 with 32 home runs and 83 RBIs. Miller also stole 16 bases without being caught.

Orioles president of baseball operations Dan Duquette says Miller will compete for a roster spot this spring.

In another deal Tuesday, Baltimore traded infielder Brandon Snyder to Texas for cash. Snyder played in six games with the Orioles last year.

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 This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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.

BALTIMORE — The Baltimore Orioles have obtained outfielder Jai Miller from the Oakland Athletics, who parted with the part-time player for cash considerations.

Miller was designated for assignment by Oakland on Dec. 23 after the A’s received four players for pitcher Gio Gonzalez.

The 26-year-old Miller went 3 for 12 with a homer and two RBI for Oakland last season after being called up in September. He played in 110 games with Triple A Sacramento, battiing .276 with 32 home runs and 83 RBI. Miller also stole 16 bases without being caught.

Orioles president of baseball operations Dan Duquette says Miller will compete for a roster spot this spring.

In another deal Tuesday, Baltimore traded infielder Brandon Snyder to Texas for cash. Snyder played in six games with the Orioles last year.

On Tuesday, the Baltimore Orioles acquired outfielder Jai Miller from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for cash considerations.

Miller played well for AAA Sacramento as he played in 110 games and hit .276 with 32 home runs and 88 runs batted in. He also hit 24 doubles and stole 16 bases.

Dan Duquette, Baltimore’s VP of Baseball Operations, stated that Miller will compete for a spot on the major league roster come spring time. With Adam Jones set in center and Nick Markakis set in right, it looks like Miller will be competing against Nolan Reimold for left field.

Miller, who will turn 27 in mid January, has spent the last four seasons in AAA compiling a .271 average with 85 home runs and 253 RBI. Miller’s major league experience has been limited, but did hit .250 in 12 at bats last year with Oakland while hitting one home run. While with the Kansas City Royals in 2010, Miller hit .236 with one home run in 55 at bats.

One cause of concern has been his alarmingly high strike out rate. While he did hit those 32 home runs at AAA Sacramento in 2011, he also struck out 179 times in 410 at bats. While getting experience with the Royals in 2010, he struck out 23 times in those 55 major league at bats.

Miller was drafted by the Florida Marlins in the fourth round of the 2003 draft. During his time with the Marlins, he only saw one at bat in the pros, an at bat in which he struck out.

While he does have great speed and base running ability, Baltimore does not need another strike out prone hitter. With Mark Reynolds and Chris Davis already on their team, I can’t see Miller making the roster as a starter, but picking up a player with good speed and some power for cash considerations was not a bad move by Duquette.

Reimold deserves to get his fair shake as the starter in left this year. Last season while in Baltimore, Reimold hit .247 with 13 home runs and 45 RBI in 267 at bats. He also stole seven bases for the O’s.

Currently, I cover the Orioles for the Baltimore Guide along with being addicted to the entire Major Leagues as well as the NFL.

REFS:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/reimono01.shtml

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/milleja04.shtml

Orioles Press Release

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BALTIMORE – The Baltimore Orioles have obtained outfielder Jai Miller from the Oakland Athletics, who parted with the part-time player for cash considerations.

Miller was designated for assignment by Oakland on Dec. 23 after the A’s received four players for pitcher Gio Gonzalez.

The 26-year-old Miller went 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, battiing .276 with 32 home runs and 83 RBIs. Miller also stole 16 bases without being caught.

Orioles president of baseball operations Dan Duquette says Miller will compete for a roster spot this spring.

In another deal Tuesday, Baltimore traded infielder Brandon Snyder to Texas for cash. Snyder played in six games with the Orioles last year.

BALTIMORE (AP)—The Baltimore Orioles have obtained outfielder Jai Miller
from the Oakland Athletics, who parted with the part-time player for cash
considerations.

Miller was designated for assignment by Oakland on Dec. 23 after the A’s
received four players for pitcher Gio Gonzalez.

The 26-year-old Miller went 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, battiing .276 with 32 home runs and 83 RBIs. Miller also
stole 16 bases without being caught.

Orioles president of baseball operations Dan Duquette says Miller will
compete for a roster spot this spring.

In another deal Tuesday, Baltimore traded infielder Brandon Snyder to Texas
for cash. Snyder played in six games with the Orioles last year.