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.

Rich Harden, Coco Crisp and Craig Breslow have all been placed on waivers by the Oakland Athletics. What does this have to do with Boston? Each of the aforementioned players have been tied to the Boston Red Sox.

Harden was nearly traded to the Red Sox prior to this year’s trade deadline, but the deal fell through after concerns arose regarding Harden’s medical records. Boston would have swapped Lars Anderson and a player to be named later in exchange for Harden.

As for Crisp and Breslow, both played for the Red Sox at different points in their respective careers. Crisp played in Boston from 2006 through 2008. In three seasons, Crisp batted .271 and hit 21 home runs, drove in 137 RBI and stole 70 bases. Breslow played in Boston for one season (2006), posting an 0-2 record with a 3.75 ERA in 13 appearances.

For more Boston Red Sox coverage, visit our team page and blog, Over The Monster.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — After stealing seven bases, the Oakland Athletics finally got another chance to celebrate in a visiting clubhouse.

Brandon McCarthy pitched five-hit ball for eight innings, David DeJesus homered twice and the Athletics earned a rare road victory by beating the Tampa Bay Rays 8-0 on Saturday night.

Oakland had dropped the first four games of a nine-game trip.

“It’s good for all of us,” McCarthy said. “We came out and played a very complete game. We needed to come out and have something where the whole team can come in and be happy with what we did tonight.”

McCarthy (5-5) helped Oakland win for just the eighth time in its last 38 games away from home. He struck out five before Fautino De Los Santos finished up with a hitless ninth.

McCarthy improved to 4-0 in five starts since the All-Star break.

“He was terrific,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “He’s been as consistent a guy as we’ve had.”

Oakland had its most stolen bases since swiping eight on July 29, 1989, against Seattle. Coco Crisp stole a career-best four bags, giving the speedster 37 this season.

“He gets an opportunity and takes advantage of it,” Melvin said.

Crisp did hurt his right calf on one of the early stolen bases, but stayed in the game through eight innings. Melvin said the outfielder might miss Sunday’s game.

DeJesus hit a pair of solo homers, while Jemile Weeks and Adam Rosales both had two RBIs.

Tampa Bay’s B.J. Upton grounded out in the second inning, ending a stretch of reaching base in seven consecutive plate appearances. Upton is one of seven players who share the team record of eight.

McCarthy retired 13 straight after Evan Longoria’s first-inning single before allowing consecutive singles to Robinson Chirinos and Sean Rodriguez to start the sixth. The right-hander was able to work out of the jam.

DeJesus homered and Rosales had an RBI grounder off Alex Cobb (3-2) as Oakland went up 2-0 in the second. DeJesus, who hadn’t hit a home run in his previous 42 games, also went deep in the ninth.

Cobb gave up five runs and seven hits in 4 1-3 innings. The rookie right-hander, who has lost two starts in a row, experienced discomfort in his throwing hand and was taken to a hospital for precautionary tests.

“He did not complain about anything throughout the course of the game,” Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. “I was advised about the problem during the game. He’s being seen (by the team doctor). I really have no idea where this is going to go.”

Crisp had a bunt single in the third, stole second and scored to make it 3-0 on Josh Willingham’s sacrifice fly.

Weeks extended the advantage to 4-0 on an RBI single during the fourth. Weeks drove in a run with a double and Rosales had a sacrifice fly in the eighth

Oakland took a 5-0 lead in the fifth when Crisp singled, stole both second and third and scored on Cliff Pennington’s sacrifice fly.

Oakland threatened in the first, but a baserunning mistake by Crisp ended the inning. After reaching on an error and stealing second, Crisp was tagged out in a rundown near third base on Willingham’s two-out single.

Weeks was also thrown out to end the fourth after going too far away from first base on his hit.

Notes: Oakland 1B Conor Jackson didn’t play due to spasms on the right side of his back. There is an outside chance he could play Sunday. … Tampa Bay All-Star LHP David Price (9-10), Sunday’s scheduled starter, has allowed eight homers in his last six outings after giving up nine over his first 17 appearances. “I’m looking to go out there and set the tone early and give us a chance to win,” Price said. … Athletics RHP Trevor Cahill (9-10) enters his start Sunday 1-5 with a 6.13 ERA in his previous seven games. … Hideki Matsui made his 15th start this season in left field for Oakland. He has been the DH 76 times. … Matsui singled in the seventh to extend his hitting streak to 14 games.

The first time I heard anything about what Coco Crisp(notes) had going on his neck was early last week when the Oakland Athletics played the Detroit Tigers. Tigers blogger Samara Pearlstein spotted what looked like a piercing and posted her observation on Twitter.

Since then, others have taken notice. It’s a tattoo! It’s a piercing! It’s both! Larry Brown Sports noticed it on Friday while the A’s were playing the New York Yankees. And of course, any time something happens within the Yankees’ big spotlight, it tends to draw more notice.

So we have what appears to be a piercing — or more specifically, as Sam noted, a surface piercing — in the middle of a neck tattoo. The question everyone is asking upon noticing is whether or not Crisp should be allowed to play with that thing in his neck.

It’s not something that would cause a distraction to opposing pitchers. Heck, Barry Bonds’ dangling cross earring arguably drew more attention back in its day. 

But what about safety? What if Crisp slides across grass or dirt, coming into contact with that area? What about a glove when a tag is being applied? Or how about just the normal sweat and dirt that results from playing baseball?

Not to mention (based on my minutes of Internet research) that the skin tends to reject surface piercings, pushing out what it perceives as a foreign object, much like what would happen with a splinter. As Pounded Ink points out, even a simple bump can kickstart the rejection process.

One would assume that the A’s front office and training staff has seen Crisp’s piercing and signed off on it. (There has been no comment from the team or Crisp himself.) Or they — along with MLB — figure Crisp is an adult and can do whatever he wants, as long as he’s aware of the possible repercussions. Surface piercings tend to be a temporary accessory anyway, due to the piercing eventually growing out.

Is this just a phase for Crisp, as his bountiful Afro was just three months ago?

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Related: Coco Crisp, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, BallMedia, injuries, Ballpark Mischief, Blown Calls

Read More: Josh Outman (P – OAK), Coco Crisp (CF – OAK), Baltimore Orioles

The Oakland Athletics square off for one more game with the Baltimore Orioles Wednesday night hoping to avoid a third straight series sweep. The A’s have lost eight straight games and are in danger of completely falling out of the AL West race before the All Star Break. The game airs at 4:05pm pacific and will be on CSN California.

The A’s will send out Josh Outman to face Zach Britton as Outman looks to bounce back from a tough outing against the Boston Red Sox. Outman lasted 2 2/3 innings and gave up five runs on five hits and a walk before being pulled. His limited pitch count is allowing him to swing back through the rotation again on three days rest.

The A’s are giving Jemile Weeks a second straight start as he’ll play second base and hit at the bottom of the order. Coco Crisp returns to the top of the batting order as the A’s look for some semblance of a spark. Really some semblance of life. The Orioles pitching staff has shut down the A’s in the first two games, while getting just enough run support to get the victories. The A’s are digging themselves a big hole

Oakland Athletics
1. Coco Crisp CF
2. Daric Barton 1B
3. Conor Jackson LF
4. Josh Willingham DH
5. Kurt Suzuki C
6. David DeJesus RF
7. Adam Rosales 3B
8. Cliff Pennington SS
9. Jemile Weeks 2B

Baltimore Orioles
1. Robert Andino 2B
2. Nick Markakis RF
3. Adam Jones CF
4. Vladimir Guerrero DH
5. Derrek Lee 1B
6. Matt Wieters C
7. J.J. Hardy SS
8. Mark Reynolds 3B
9. Nolan Reimold LF