Boston gets center fielder Coco Crisp in a much-discussed deal, but has to part with prospect Andy Marte, reliever Guillermo Mota, catcher Kelly Shoppach, cash and a player to be named later.

01:00 AM EST on Saturday, January 28, 2006

BY SEAN McADAM
Journal Sports Writer

BOSTON -- A day after its prospects seemed dimmed, if not dead altogether, the much-discussed deal between the Red Sox and Cleveland Indians involving Coco Crisp finally was consummated last night, resurrected after the Indians completed a second trade earlier in the day that netted them Crisp's replacement.

According to multiple baseball sources, the Sox and Indians worked most of the day on the deal, receiving final authorization from Major League Baseball and Red Sox ownership before it became official late last night.

In addition to Crisp -- a replacement for Johnny Damon both in center field and at the top of the Boston batting order -- the Sox obtained reliever David Riske and catcher Josh Bard.

In return, the Sox sent to Cleveland third-base prospect Andy Marte, reliever Guillermo Mota, catcher Kelly Shoppach, cash considerations worth slightly in excess of $1 million and a player to be named later. The unnamed player may well be determined by Mota's health.

It was Mota's potentially troublesome right elbow that sidelined the deal earlier in the week. An MRI concerned the Indians to the point where they pulled out of the proposed original six-player swap.

The deal is structured in such a way that if Mota remains healthy for the entire season, the Indians will be given a lesser prospect. If he is sidelined, however, the prospect they select from the Sox will be slightly upgraded.

The switch-hitting Crisp, 26, batted .300 with 16 homers and 69 RBI with 15 stolen bases for Cleveland last year. Since losing Damon, a free agent, to the New York Yankees in December, the Sox were desperate to fill the gap in center. He boasts speed and evolving power, but has not always showed much patience at the plate.

It's worth noting that while the Sox envision him as their center fielder and leadoff hitter this season and beyond -- Crisp is eligible for salary arbitration but can't become a free agent until after the 2009 season -- he filled neither role with the Indians in 2005, when he played left field and often hit second in the lineup.

Riske joins Mike Timlin and free-agent acquisitions Julian Tavarez and Rudy Seanez as setup men in the Red Sox' bullpen, an area that faltered badly last season. Riske, 29, appeared in 58 games with a 3-4 mark and a 3.10 E.R.A.

Bard, who will turn 28 before the start of the season, spent parts of the last three seasons with the Indians, and missed half of last year due to injury. He could compete with newcomers John Flaherty and Ken Huckaby to serve as the backup to starter Jason Varitek.

Earlier yesterday, the Indians had signaled their willingness to revisit the Sox deal when they agreed to send lefty reliever Arthur Rhodes to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for outfielder Jason Michaels, whom the Indians envision taking over in left field. His acquisition, in turn, freed them to ship Crisp to the Red Sox.

The Indians' willingness to include Rhodes made it imperative that they obtain another veteran setup man to take his place. For several days, one person with knowledge of the talks said, the Indians had asked that the Sox include Manny Delcarmen in the deal to offset their fears about Mota's health.

But the Red Sox dug in and refused to part with the Boston native who made his major-league debut last summer. Instead, the teams agreed on a lesser prospect.

As recently as yesterday, there existed a slight possibility that the Sox could trade for Cincinnati Reds outfielder Austin Kearns in order to include him in a deal with the Indians. But the firing of Reds general manager Dan O'Brien earlier this week has, according to major-league sources, made it difficult to make a deal with the club.

In the meantime, the Sox continued to explore their options at shortstop. Free agent Alex Gonzalez has been a target almost since the winter meetings, but the Sox are interested only to a degree.

With Dustin Pedroia close to contributing on the major-league level, the Sox are unwilling to guarantee Gonzalez more than one year. Gonzalez has drawn interest from another major-league team, and seems likely to make his choice by next week.

If Gonzalez is intent on getting more than a one-year guarantee from the Sox, Boston is expected to hold its ground and go into spring training with the idea that Alex Cora would open the season at short, with Pedroia ready to compete for playing time before midseason.

smcadam@projo.com / (401) 277-7340