Red Sox trade CF Crisp to Royals

Nov 19, 2008 - 5:32 PM BOSTON (Ticker) -- The Boston Red Sox on Wednesday traded center fielder Coco Crisp to the Kansas City Royals for righthanded reliever Ramon Ramirez.

With the emergence of Jacoby Ellsbury, Crisp had been the subject of trade rumors for more than a year and likely would have been relegated to a fourth outfielder had he remained in Boston.

Still, he played well down the stretch, batting .341 over the final two months to help the Red Sox secure the American League wild card berth.

Crisp replaced Ellsbury in the ALCS and hit .450 in Boston's seven-game defeat to the Tampa Bay Rays.

Acquired from Cleveland midway through the 2006 season, Crisp, 29, is best known for his defense.

In 2007, he set a franchise mark for most consecutive errorless chances by an outfielder with 429.

Despite the persistent trade rumors, Crisp played in 118 games for the Red Sox last season, batting .283 with a .344 on-base percentage. He had seven home runs and 41 RBI.

Ramirez, 27, was a key part of the Royals' bullpen, appearing in 71 games in 2008, going 3-2 with a 2.64 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 71 2/3 innings.

Ramirez has a career mark of 9-7 with a 3.62 ERA in three major league seasons with the Colorado Rockies and Royals.

Last season, he limited righthanded opponents to a .153 batting average, lowest in the AL and third-best in the majors among pitchers with at least 50 games. Only the Cubs' Carlos Marmol (.103) and Philadelphia's Brad Lidge (.105) were better.

In 2008, Ramirez was one of just three AL. relievers with at least 70 strikeouts, 70 appearances and an ERA under 3.00. The others were Los Angeles of Anaheim's Francisco Rodriguez and the Chicago White Sox's Matt Thornton.