The annual Coco Crisp rumor

We’ve discussed Coco coming to the Braves on several occasions, and now may be the time. Oakland has a crowded outfield, with newly acquired Chris Young, Yoenis Cespedes and Josh Reddick. They need a SS — Tyler Pastornicky alone may not do it, but packaged with a prospect the A’s may bite.

Crisp, 33, is signed through 2013 with a team option for 2014 at $7-$7.5 million per. So the Braves can afford him.

Like Victornio, who’s apparently going to receive more than the Braves are willing to pay, Crisp is not an ideal lead-off hitter. His .325 OBP last year was a shade below his career mark. But he struck out only 64 times in 2012 and he is perhaps the most skilled baserunner in the majors, stealing 120 bases in 136 attempts over the last 3 years with Oakland.

The 20 worst A-Braves players: #10 Jimmy Kremers

Jimmy Kremers, the Braves 2nd round pick in the ’88 amateur draft, made his MLB debut two years later. It would be his only season in the majors, and with good reason.

Kremers had 3 hits in his first 25 AB and none in his last 25. He had five hits in between, finishing with a .110 BA and .369 OPS  in 73 AB. On top of that he struck out every 2.5 AB’s.

So he must have been strong defensively, right? Not exactly. Despite playing just 27 games at catcher, starting 21, Kremers allowed 24 steals in 29 attempts.

Basically, if Kremers was starting you could count on him striking out at least once and allowing at least one runner to steal a base.

Yet somehow the Braves were able to trade Kremers to Montreal on April Fools Day, 1991, for Otis Nixon. Otis, an  Atlanta folk hero, hit .278 and stole 186 bases in four years with the Braves.