Ken Rosenthal has another column up tonight. The lead: the emergence of Jack Cust may cause the A’s to shop Mike Piazza. The problem is that Piazza may be limited to DH duties. Rosenthal names the Mariners, Twins, and Angels as teams lacking at the position, though all those clubs could be in the playoff chase with Oakland.
Billy Beane might find additional flexibility if Piazza is able to play first base. He played 64 games there in 2004 for the Mets. However, this might not sit well with Piazza. It was thought that his defensive struggles at first in ’04 carried over to his offensive performance at times. Moving Piazza to the NL probably wouldn’t work, even if he’s able to get behind the plate a couple of times each week. Since only a contender would consider acquiring Piazza, Beane is probably stuck with him.
