The Red Sox have a hole in the outfield, but they might try to plug that hole with a familiar face. According to Buster Olney of ESPN.com, the Red Sox are one team that has expressed interest in Coco Crisp at the winter meetings.
"The level of interest varies, and I'm just guessing, but I would say there's close to a dozen teams that have a level of interest," Crisp told MLB.com on Tuesday. "What level that is remains to be seen."
Crisp played with the Red Sox from 2006-2008 before being traded on Nov. 19, 2008 to the Kansas City Royals for relief pitcher Ramon Ramirez. He hit .228 last season with three home runs and 14 RBIs for the Royals. It was announced on June 23 of last season that Crisp would need season-ending surgery to repair a torn shoulder labrum.
In three seasons with the Red Sox, Crisp hit .271 with 21 home runs and 137 RBIs. He was traded to the Red Sox on Jan. 27, 2006 from the Cleveland Indians for third baseman Andy Marte, pitcher Guillermo Mota, catcher Kelly Shoppach, a player to be named later (Randy Newsom) and cash considerations. The Red Sox received catcher Josh Bard and pitcher David Riske in the deal.
He is currently a free agent and he made $6 million last season.
Update: Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star is reporting that the Red Sox' interest is "low-level" but that it's still more than the Royals are showing.
