Stewart to Oakland

According to Buster Olney of espn.com, the Oakland Athletics and former Twin Shannon Stewart have reached an agreement on a one-year, incentive-laden deal worth up to $2.5 million.

For an Oakland fan's take on the deal, check out Melissa Lockard's thoughts over at Most Valuable Network.

I had heard Stewart's name in connection with Baltimore and Florida this offseason, with his hometown Marlins seeming like a good fit.

At first glance, the A's don't seem to have much room for Stewart in their outfield (with Nick Swisher, Mark Kotsay, Milton Bradley, and Bobby Kielty) or at designated hitter (Mike Piazza). Of course, if Dan Johnson struggles or gets hurt again, Swisher would likely move to first base, making Stewart the primary backup in the outfield.

I'd guess that around half of the $2.5 million is guaranteed money, the other half based mostly on plate appearance incentives. While I wasn't too high on Stewart in his last two seasons with the Twins, it seems like a reasonable, low-risk deal for Oakland. As long as Stewart stays off the DL (which might be asking a lot), he'll provide a decent bat as insurance if any starters go down.