Coco Crisp Chose Oakland A's over Tampa Bay Rays

Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle spoke with Coco Crisp, who recently signed with the Oakland Athletics, and the outfielder told Slusser it was between the A's and Tampa Bay Rays.

The 32-year-old is guaranteed $14 million over the next two years, and will earn an additional $250K if he's traded - a strong possibility come trade deadline.

Crisp, who resides in Southern California, said he wanted to stay close to home and loved his time with the A's organization. However, the Tampa Bay Rays were close to acquiring the outfielder until the A's came back with a better offer at the last second.

"Crisp's agent, Steve Comte, said that Tampa Bay was "not only a viable option but the best option" as of Saturday, and on Sunday, the A's had a new proposal that was more to Crisp's liking."

The Rays currently have an outfield of Desmond Jennings, B.J. Upton and Matt Joyce in the outfield, but the club nearly added Coco Crisp. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times believes the club would have traded Upton, if they closed the deal with Crisp, since it wouldn't make sense moving one of their top prospects in Desmond Jennings or removing power from the lineup with Matt Joyce/Ben Zobrist. Ultimately, this could mean B.J. Upton is available.