The Athletics and Coco Crisp agreed on a two-year extension worth $22.75 million.
Early Friday morning, the Oakland A’s front office ensured one of their more-loved players would continue doing the “Bernie Lean.”
The contract for the 34-year-old comes on the heels of several well-publicized free agent deals during the 2013 offseason, like Jacoby Ellsbury and Shin-Soo Choo.
Crisp’s deal will net him $11 million in 2015 and 2016, with a $13 million club option for 2017.
Ellsbury was signed by the Yankees for seven years at $21 million per year in December. Ellsbury has a .789 OPS (on base percentage, plus slugging percentage) over seven years in the majors, while Crisp has a .741 OPS over 12 years, making the extension a relative steal.
On the matter of steals, Crisp also has 278 career stolen bases, 141 in his four seasons with the A’s on 161 attempts. The 87 percent success rate makes him one of the most deadly base-stealers in baseball history, surpassing former A’s Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson (76 percent lifetime).
Crisp’s 2013 season was his first with 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases, Crisp also finishing the campaign with a 4.3 WAR (wins over replacement), placing him within the top 20 for the American League.
Crisp will be one of several Athletics players appearing at Oakland’s Fan Fest Saturday at Oracle Arena.
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