Third Base Options For The A’s

After largely sleepwalking through recent offseasons, the A’s have woken up ahead of their temporary move to West Sacramento with splashes both in the free-agent market and trade market. Luis Severino (three years, $67MM) and Jeffrey Springs (Joe Boyle, Will Simpson, Jacob Watters, Competitive Balance draft pick) now stand atop the rotation depth chart.

Some of the maneuvering could be due to a desire to draw in fans from a new market. Some could be early groundwork to convince the eventual long-term fans in Las Vegas that this isn’t the same spendthrift A’s club we saw in Oakland. More realistically, a good portion of the spending is simply to boost payroll enough to avoid a grievance from the MLBPA. The A’s already had their status as a revenue-sharing recipient revoked once after failing to sufficiently utilize the funds they receive from that arena; they were only reinstated as a recipient in the 2022-26 collective bargaining agreement.

With that in mind, it’s worth looking ahead to what the remainder of the offseason might hold. General manager David Forst was candid about his desire to add a third baseman last week, and he stated that he’s open to further rotation moves as well. With regard to third base, the A’s have plenty of options but will likely need to get creative. The two most oft-discussed third base options on the market right now are free agent Alex Bregman and trade candidate Nolan Arenado.

The A’s might be spending, but they’re almost certainly not going to dole out the $200MM+ required to sign Bregman. Arenado, meanwhile, has a full no-trade clause and would need to green-light a trade to the A’s in order to spend the next three seasons playing in a Triple-A facility. Arenado’s agent, Joel Wolfe, suggested that if a trade indeed comes together, his client will want it to be to a team capable of being a perennial contender. The A’s have made some waves this winter, but I don’t think anyone’s convinced they fit that description just yet.

So, where could they turn? Let’s run down some of the in-house options and handful of potential outside fits who could jump to the front of the line for playing time…

In-House Candidates

Darell Hernaiz, Max Schuemann, Brett Harris, CJ Alexander

A click through the results that quartet posted this past season will reveal why the A’s are so open to the idea of adding at the hot corner. Each of Hernaiz, Schuemann and Harris logged over 100 plate appearances with the A’s. None hit well in the majors. Harris and Hernaiz hit some in Triple-A, but both are generally regarded as fringey prospects for different reasons. Harris is a good defender and has good bat-to-ball skills but offers little power and plodding speed. Hernaiz has an even better hit tool with more power but far more questions about his glovework. Alexander was an August waiver claim who’s already 27 and has all of eight MLB plate appearances. He ripped apart Triple-A pitching this year but struggled in his first taste of that level as a 26-year-old in 2023.

Free Agency Route

Paul DeJong: Big flies, slick plays and punchouts galore. Anyone who signs DeJong at this point in the 31-year-old’s career knows that’s what they’re getting. DeJong has fanned in at least 30% of his plate appearances in each of the past three seasons. He’s also slugged 44 home runs in his past 1119 plate appearances and delivered strong glovework on the left side of the infield. He’s typically been a shortstop, but both Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average were bullish on his defense in 328 1/3 innings at third base last year between the White Sox and Royals. DeJong can very likely be had on a one-year deal, and the allure of an everyday gig to begin the season would hold appeal, given that many of his suitors are going to view him as more of a bench piece.

Yoan Moncada: This is the biggest upside play on this winter’s crop of options at the hot corner. Moncada is still 29 years old (30 in May). He was the consensus top prospect in the sport at one point and was so touted as a prospect that the Red Sox paid more than $60MM (signing bonus and penalty taxes combined) to sign him under the former iteration of MLB’s international bonus pool system. Moncada looked like a star in 2019 and 2021 but has battled injuries since. Dating back to Opening Day 2022, he’s posted a .236/.291/.387 slash. He’s been playing Winter Ball in Puerto Rico, but Francys Romero reported that he’s stepping away — in part because of an injury scare after fouling a ball into his right foot recently but also perhaps because he’s on the cusp of an agreement with a big league team. Moncada can’t be too picky about where he plays, and of all the names available on short-term deals, he’s the one who could most plausibly erupt with a rebound that turns him into a coveted trade candidate.

Jorge Polanco: At 31 (32 in July), Polanco isn’t as “upside-y” as Moncada, but he has a longer track record of hitting in the big leagues. From 2018-23, the switch-hitter slashed .270/.338/.455 for the Twins — highlighted by a 33-homer season in 2021. He became the latest established hitter to flop following a trade to Seattle, though October knee surgery revealed that perhaps there was more than just the pitcher-friendly environment impacting his struggles. Polanco’s agency says he’s healthy now and he very superficially looks the part — MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes and I saw him multiple times at the Winter Meetings in Dallas as he met with interested clubs — and if so, he should be a strong rebound candidate. Polanco hit .255/.335/.454 as recently as 2023. The Astros are one team considering him as a third base option, and the A’s could do the same. Polanco could also be insurance at second base, should Zack Gelof’s 2024 struggles continue.

Josh Rojas: The 30-year-old Rojas hasn’t hit much these past two seasons (.234/.304/.337), but he’s played the heck out of third base for the D-backs and the Athletics’ division-rival Mariners. Like Polanco, he has ample experience at second base and can provide a safety net in the event that Gelof struggles. Rojas was non-tendered by the Mariners as they look for offensive upgrades in the infield while facing tight budgetary constraints from ownership. From 2021-22 in Arizona, he hit .266/.345/.401 (106 wRC+) while walking in nearly 11% of his plate appearances. If he can come close to that level of production while replicating his brilliant 2024 defense (+6 DRS, +7 OAA), he’d be a steal at the one-year deal he’ll likely command.

Trade Route

Brett Baty, Mets: The former No. 12 overall pick (2019) and longtime top prospect has mustered only a .215/.282/.325 line in his first 602 MLB plate appearances, although those have been spread across three seasons. Baty is a .273/.368/.531 hitter in 416 Triple-A plate appearances and has shown improving strike zone awareness even in the majors. He walked at a 9.4% clip last year and cut his strikeout rate from 28% in 2023 down to 24.6% in 2024. Baty fanned in 21.2% of his Triple-A plate appearances and walked at a 12.4% clip in 2024. The emergence of Mark Vientos has at least temporarily blocked Baty’s path to the majors, although if Pete Alonso signs elsewhere in free agency, then Vientos could slide to first base and create another chance for Baty. Still, the Mets are getting hits on Baty, and they’re likely open to moving him for the right return. He wouldn’t help the A’s boost payroll, as he’s not yet into arbitration … but if the A’s wanted to take on a portion of Starling Marte’s contract to lower the cost to acquire Baty, the Mets might have interest in that.

Alec Bohm, Phillies: You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. Can’t blame the Phillies for reportedly asking about Mason Miller when talking to the A’s about Bohm — just as you can’t blame them for reportedly looking at Logan Gilbert and George Kirby in Seattle. It doesn’t sound as though the Phils have a realistic price tag on Bohm right now, but that could change as the winter wears on. If they get to the point where they’d look at moving Bohm for some optionable back-of-the-rotation arms, the scenario becomes more plausible. Bohm is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $8.1MM next year. The Phillies are looking to shake up their offense and could move Bohm to address other needs and create an opening for a new acquisition of their own.

Willi Castro/Jose Miranda, Twins: The Twins are deep in infielders. They’re almost certainly not going to move former No. 1 overall pick Royce Lewis or Brooks Lee, the No. 8 pick from the 2022 draft. Carlos Correa is entrenched at shortstop, and the Twins have repeatedly downplayed speculation about a trade regarding their highest-paid player. Castro makes more sense as a trade candidate, given that he’s entering his final season of club control and projected to earn $6.2MM as the Twins face payroll issues amid a potential sale. But, he can play anywhere on the field, is beloved in the clubhouse and just hit .251/.344/.395 with good defense and plus baserunning across the past two seasons. Miranda could be a go-to bat at first base; he excelled as a rookie in 2022, didn’t hit in 2023 before undergoing shoulder surgery, and bounced back with a .284/.322/.441 line in a resurgent 2024. The Twins still have Edouard Julien as a potential option at first base. Top infield prospect Luke Keaschall is rising quickly. They could move one of Miranda or Castro and possibly even pair him with Chris Paddack to fill multiple needs for the A’s while trimming payroll and adding some young talent in the process.

Nolan Gorman, Cardinals: All the talk in St. Louis is about trading Arenado to open playing time for young hitters, but what about possibly trading some of those young hitters themselves? Gorman feels like a change of scenery candidate after being unable to solidify himself as a big leaguer despite looks in three different seasons. He has clear plus power but some notable contact issues. The Cards, even if they move Arenado, might like to get Jordan Walker back to third base and could prefer Thomas Saggese or Brendan Donovan at second base. This year’s first-round pick, JJ Wetherholt, could rise quickly. We’re also still only four months removed from president of baseball operations John Mozeliak saying this about Gorman before optioning him to Triple-A:

“Obviously, it’s a game of production up here and at some point, you’ve got to consistently produce, or we have to find someone who can. I mean, that’s what it ultimately comes down to, and these are hard messages to hear. It can be frustrating, but this is what ends up defining you. With our offensive struggles this year, I think you can strictly look at the inability for consistent performance, day in and day out.”

Mozeliak has since changed his tune, telling The Athletic’s Katie Woo earlier this winter that the club hoped to get Gorman close to 600 plate appearances next season. Even if that’s true, Gorman has had multiple auditions and hasn’t yet claimed a spot. Walker, Saggese and Wetherholt are all in the mix for playing time around shortstop Masyn Winn and first baseman Willson Contreras (Wetherholt more in the second half of 2025). If the A’s offer the right young player(s), they’d have a chance at buying four years of Gorman. As with Baty, he wouldn’t do anything to bump payroll (unless paired up with, say, Steven Matz), but he’s an intriguing candidate.

Ke’Bryan Hayes, Pirates: Had the Pirates known Hayes would run into chronic back troubles that would send him to the IL five times over the first three seasons of his contract extension, they’d have thought twice about guaranteeing the former top prospect $70MM. Hindsight is 20/20. At the time of the extension, Hayes was a recent top pick who’d hit .282/.342/.432 through his first 506 plate appearances while playing flat-out elite defense. The plus-plus glovework is still there, but in a possible 482 games since putting pen to paper, Hayes has suited up just 352 times and batted .250/.303/.369 in that time. He’s still owed $43MM over the next five years on what was a front-loaded contract extension. That front-loading will make him easier to trade than a more conventional backloaded deal, and Hayes’ sensational glovework gives him a high floor whenever he’s on the field. The always payroll-crunched Bucs surely wouldn’t mind escaping the remainder of this deal.

Casey Schmitt, Giants: Another former high pick with big defensive skills, Schmitt has posted a tepid .219/.264/.369 slash in 390 big league plate appearances across the past two seasons. His defensive grades at shortstop have been surprisingly down for a player whom scouting reports praised in that regard, but plenty of plus defensive shortstops slide down the defensive spectrum to third base in the majors. Schmitt has strong grades for his small sample of 296 MLB frames at the hot corner. He’s a career .286/.343/.460 hitter in Triple-A. The Giants have nowhere to put him except in a utility role, now that Matt Chapman and Willy Adames own the left side of the infield and Tyler Fitzgerald is ticketed for regular work at second base. That might be a fine role for Schmitt, too, but the Giants have other candidates for that role. You could argue 27-year-old David Villar also works for the A’s, but he’s older and has failed in the majors in a larger sample; he’s also out of minor league options and doesn’t have near Schmitt’s defensive acumen. Schmitt is another player who won’t do anything to add to the payroll, but he’s a recently well regarded prospect who’s now blocked from a path to regular playing time.