OAKLAND – Mark Ellis' first choice was to stay with the A's, even if he had tested his value in free agency.
The A's secured some stability in the middle of their infield Monday by agreeing on an two-year, $11 million contract to keep the popular second baseman.
"Oakland always would have been my top choice," Ellis said. "It's where I'm comfortable and where I've played my whole career.
"If I know that's where I want to be, there's no reason to go look around."
The A's also have a club option that could keep Ellis through the 2011 season.
The 31-year-old Ellis, who had right shoulder surgery last month, could have become a free agent after the World Series. He had asked the A's to postpone any further negotiations on a new contract until the season was over. General manager Billy Beane and assistant GM David Forst were optimistic of working something out in a timely manner once the process with Ellis' representatives got going.
Ellis will get $5 million next year and $5.5 million in 2010, and the A's have a $6 million option for 2011 with a $500,000 buyout.
He can receive an additional $800,000 annually in performance bonuses based on games.
Ellis has spent seven years with Oakland. He missed the 2004 season because of a right shoulder injury.
"We're really happy to have Mark back," Forst said. "He was honest all season long that he wanted to be back in Oakland after this year. That made it an easy conversation. Mark was an important part of a lot of playoff teams here and has been an important part of all we've done the last seven or eight years."
Ellis batted .233 with 12 home runs and 41 RBIs in 117 games in 2008, a rebuilding year in which Oakland finished 75-86. He stole 14 bases and made only four errors.
The second baseman hurt his shoulder Aug. 21 at Seattle sliding into second base to break up a double play. His last game of the year was Aug. 30 as a pinch hitter against Minnesota.
Ellis is still regaining some mobility in the shoulder and isn't expected to throw until the middle of January at the earliest.
"Where I'm at in the recovery is very good for a month out," Ellis said. "I'm pleasantly surprised. I'm going to take it slow. When I'm ready to play, I'm going to play, whether that's April 1 or April 15."
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