The Oakland A’s may look to offset the potential loss of left fielder Robbie Grossman with organizational depth. According to MLB.com’s Martín Gallegos, the A’s suspect 28-year-old Seth Brown could play an important role – but it’s now or never for the Oregon native. Brown’s combination of power and patience is a skill set the A’s have shown a fondness for over the years, and he played well during a 2019 call-up: .293/.361/.453 in 83 plate appearances.
From 2017 to 2019, Brown made the progressive leaps an organization likes to see as he jumped from High-A to Double-A to Triple-A in successive seasons. He earned his time on the big-league roster in 2019 after an impressive .297/.352/.634 line with 37 home runs in just 112 games at the highest level of the minors.
Grossman himself was somewhat of a late bloomer, cutting his teeth on unfortunate Astros squads of 2013 and 2014. He would be released by the Astros and then the Indians before finding a home in Minnesota. After three seasons of part-time work that culminated in a solid 1.7 bWAR season in 2018, the Twinkies cut him loose, too.
Hello, Oakland. Grossman’s 2020 output was easily the most productive season of his career, but those considering him in free agency must gauge whether his power display during the shortened 2020 season is the final step of his development or a small-sample burst. His .240 ISO this season far outpaced his career mark of .127 ISO.
All in all, Grossman’s skill set isn’t flashy, but that hasn’t stopped him from posting an above-average wRC+ in four of the last five seasons. If a market doesn’t develop for Grossman, the A’s could seek a reunion. Grossman and Brown both hit from the left side, of course, making for a ham-handed timeshare between the two.
Enter Chad Pinder, who could be in line for more regular playing time. Pinder has long been a short-side platoon utility player for the A’s, but his bat played up in a major way during their playoff run. Pinder was often penciled into the number three spot in the order while standing in for the injured Matt Chapman at the hot corner. Pinder could easily line up with Ramon Laureano and Mark Canha against lefties, but Stephen Piscotty should also be back in the lineup. The A’s could be intrigued by the possibility of more face time for the soon-to-be 29-year-old Pinder, but much of that time may have to come at second base, where Tony Kemp currently tops the depth chart.
All of which is to say, expect the A’s to slow-play the market this offseason and see where the value play lies. They’d like to explore the possibility of bringing back Tommy La Stella, who would expect a majority of the timeshare at the keystone. A long-time part-time player who almost retired many years ago when the Cubs sent him to Triple-A, La Stella is not likely to cherish a return to diminished responsibilities.
Add to the outfield mix ML-ready prospects Luis Barrera and Greg Deichmann – the latter of whom, Gallegos notes, was just added to the 40-man roster – and the A’s could head into 2021 as currently constituted with plenty of options to throw at the wall.
The real issue for the A’s is building a bridge between Marcus Semien and prospect Nick Allen at short. Allen’s defensive prowess is considerable, but the 5’8″ 22-year-old glove last appeared in High-A with a slash line of .292/.363/.434. Normal circumstances would dictate another year in the minors for Allen, but these days the development curve is more blueprint than model.
If Allen is close, Pinder could hold the line at short, but he’s totaled just 34 innings as the infield captain since 2017. Assuming they’re not ready to simply hand the keys to the car over to Allen, the A’s will focus their free agent energy (aka, dollars) on finding a short-term fix to keep the spot warm.
The A’s, like the Rays, are comfortable fielding a dynamic offensive lineup that shape-shifts as needed throughout the regular season. They’ll dole out playing time piecemeal until settling on the right mix. That could mean an increased share for Brown, but the A’s are sure to have ways to flex the roster if he’s unable to claim it.
Also they have Skye bolt and dustin Fowler on 40 man roster who are mlb ready and imo could be at least 4th outfielder types if given a chance. My guess is one or both will be DFA or traded whenever roster space is needed. They seem to love Grossman and I bet they would bring him back for something like $5-7 mill/yr
Grossman is a average platoon LF. Probably comes back for a $4 million 1 year offer. Not sure if the A’s will decide to just use a rookie and save money. Only way i see them bringing back Grossman if Canha gets traded.
Is Khris Davis our of the picture? Or is he mainly DH?
I think he’s mainly DH, if he even plays the field anymore. The DH needs to go
The DH isn’t going. Almost every professional league in the world uses it, plus the colleges.
It’s not only staying, it’s going to be on both leagues sooner rather than later.
He only has 110 innings in left since the begining of 2018 and one of the last time he played LF was against the Pirates and got injured while playing the field. They probably don’t want to turn to him unless its an emergency.
Kris Bryant.
Put Cubs out of their misery and trade a bag of balls for KB.
Man that’s a whole lot of words for one not-so-urgent position situation on one team. Are we going to get similar novels about the second base situation in Milwaukee, or the catching situation in Colorado? Love it!
The MLB hot stove is more of a lukewarm crawl aha…
It may not be urgent position, but it has a trickle down effect on their roster. That have a good amount of outfield options, but shallow on bullpen depth and stability at second base. If they spend on grossman, those younger outfielders get blocked and limited payroll may impact what they do for other roster needs. And that outfield depth could also be trade bait. Canha may make 6-8 mill in arby, plus piscotty making 7 mill with 2 consecutive seasons of some injuries. In hindsight that Khris Davis extension looking like a disaster. Sure would be nice have that chunk of 17 million go towards a semien, hendriks reunion which is looking unlikely. Also they have lost or traded away lots of middle infield depth in recent years, especially using infield prospects depth as trade bait
Wow, you’re right … really boring MLBTR post … unless I guess you’re one or the other of the team’s fans.
Maximum verbosity.
A Zork reference.
TC loves to use his words. No complaints here. At least we dont have to read about Cohen.
None here either. MLBTR Staff puts in the time and effort all the time. Thank you
I’m hoping now that Maddon is out of the picture, that the Cubs decide to make a run for bringing LaStella back to Chicago.
The A’s = Decades of Disappointment.
I have Grossman to the Dodgers, and it’s actually one of the picks I’m pretty confident on right now. Scrappy player with a good ceiling and underrated play… that has Dodgers written all over it.
Yeah, I like the Dodgers going after Grossman too. I don’t see Joc Pederson returning but Grossman could be a good replacement for the short term.
Well the Orioles have an abundance of outfielders, maybe the A’s have something the Os need and a trade would help both teams
I picked Jackie Bradley Jr to fill the vacancy.
Gives the A’s an athletic fielder in LF to go with Ramon. Also takes an option away from their rival in the Astros to replace Springer.
A’s really need bounce back years from important guys and strides from their young pitchers, maybe two or three pen arms too.
I want JBJ to go to the Orioles
Not many O’s types agree with me, but JBJ really would solidify the outfield
I would love to see him in Charm City
No way we spend the money
Sorry to say that you might as well chalk that one up as a loss. The A’s don’t have the budget to pay JBJ $8-$10M/yr. to play LF. They have too many other holes to plug and as usual, very limited funds to work with.
I dont see Bradley getting 8-10 mill a year on a multi year deal. Maybe in a regular off season he’d get around 10 mill, but with financial issues I peg him more in the 6-7 range if he accepts a multi year deal.
That or he accepts a 1 year high AAV and re-enters next off season, which I see a lot of guys doing hoping the market recovers for 2022.
He is what he is. A roughly league average platoon bat with great defense whos 30.
Agree the A’s are not spending that money on Bradley Jr since the outfield is not a big need. SS, 2B or Closer is where the money is going.
Kolton Wong would be my A’s target for a large one year offer. Fills much needed position
He should be their #1 target. Unfortunately with Cano being suspended 1 more team in the hunt for 2B.
You don’t know any of that.
JBJ is a great fit for that spot ! Good bounce back candidate. I doubt he makes 8-10 mil. He hasn’t hit well enough last couple years to earn that much.
Also, A’s are loaded and it’s media spin that they are always broke. They have been collecting competitive balance money, playoff money, and their attendance is up too. They just choose not to spend. That’s their organizational strategy.
Fold up!
…said the person who said that the A’s weren’t a threat to the Angels before last season…how’s the cellar treating you?
I actually enjoy these posts about the lesser knows, keep them coming. When there are no stories about the stars of the game, the stories are about the flashlights. When there was no crawdad, we ate sand.
Agreed… keep these coming!
Yeah I agree
Move it in about 15 feet.
Grossman has been underrated for a while now. He could help out any number of teams.
Schwarber and Baez would solve both holes for a year – not sure what it would take probably a couple of mlb ready Pitchers and maybe an outfielder or two
The A’s won’t take on all of that salary. I think the A’s should sign Reddick.
Not sure if there’s a good match, but could the A’s use a cheap bat-first 3B/LF/DH like JD Davis? His defense is suspect, but not embarrassing enough you can’t hide him and the power in his bat… plus he’s still young and cheap.
Thats not a bad idea at all… Davis is very underrated and a great hitter
What the A’s should do about left field?
They should have a revolving door or a carousel of guys like the 2000 Yankees. Remember that team? Guys like Ricky Ledee, Shane Spencer, Clay Bellinger (Cody’s dad), Chuck Knoblauch (because he couldn’t throw to first anymore), David Justice, and Glenallen Hill. And, that team won the World Series. Good times!
That was a cool time dude. I feel like the Yankees of then kind of had more role players and players who accepted they weren’t what they used to be, but they could still contribute. Some of them teams with Scott b at 3rd, chuck at keystone, Bernie in CF. They had stars but they weren’t all stars every year or anything.
In other words Bernie is great, but he wasn’t the best CF out there. Scott bro’ was good at 3rd but he wasn’t the top guy at third. None of their position players where the best in the game but they all were a cut above most. Wish they could put it together like that again. It was amazing to watch.
Rickey Henderson. He’s available.
Hunter Renfroe or Renato Nunez – pick one and dump them in left field to see if they can rake.
Can Nunez play OF? From everything I’ve heard, Renfroe is actually a pretty good defensive outfielder, capable of playing center.
Who knows but he might be ‘passable’ as long as he hits 25-30 home runs.
It seems like the A’s could choose SS, 2B, or LF to address via FA, but probably not all three. Interesting in-house options for those spots as well.
Canha should be the LF and get a left handed hitter to play all three spots
That would probably be where Luis Barrera comes into play
Mets can send SS Rosario and Matz for AJ Puk, the Mets can use Puk in the bullpen.
Nobody wants Matz. I am surprised the Mets don’t release him.
Matz and Rosario are literally no better than anything the A’s could go out and get in free agency while keeping Puk
Or by filling spots internally, for that matter.
Re: Grossman as part of a platoon, he’s a switch-hitter, not a lefty hitter – and from his time with the Twins I’m pretty sure I remember him actually hitting better from the right side…?
Grossman would be good cheap better contact replacement for Schwarber. Has pretty even platoon splits too
Question for any hardcore A’s fans, I’m not super familiar with the team but why has brown not been given a shot already. His minor league and limited major league numbers are very good?
His age is what it really boils down to…also his power has completely disappeared in the majors…they’re much higher on Barrera whose floor is much much higher
Thanks for the info, surprised a money conscious team like the a’s havent traded him yet instead of him sitting in the minors getting older.
How about Corey Dickerson from the Marlins? Former gold glove winner, offers LH power, and grinds out every at bat.
If Miami is willing to eat some of his $9.5M salary that could be a good fit as the Marlins have a million OF pieces coming and some already here.
I could see Dickerson on the A’s.