Even though the Oakland A’s have made some major moves this offseason, their middle infield is still weak. With youngster Marcus Semien projected to be the everyday starting shortstop, second base will most likely be platooned by Eric Sogard and Andy Parrino. Both are great defensemen but have trouble finding success at the plate.
Sogard is a fan favorite and the better second baseman defensively. However, he only batted .223 last season with one home run and 22 RBI. Parrino joined the Oakland A’s in 2013 but has spent the majority of his time in Triple-A. During the total 35 games he has played in the MLB for the Athletics, he has a .135 batting average. Parrino’s career MLB batting average is .179 over 114 games. The Oakland A’s need to strengthen this position with a second baseman who can defend as well as produce offensively.
There have been a few second basemen names floating around the Oakland A’s rumor mill including free agent Stephen Drew and Cuban second baseman Hector Olivera. Last season, Drew did not land a contract with an MLB team until mid-May when he signed a one-year contract with the Boston Red Sox. He was then traded to the Yankees on July 31, 2014.
Overall, Drew had a very poor season. He batted only .162 with a .536 OPS. Even though many accredited his lack of success to the fact that he did not attend a spring training with a Major League team and started the season late, Drew was still struggling at the plate in September 2014 – a time when he should have been playing well. Many are worried that this is just the start of a serious decline for Drew.
Even though many teams including the Oakland A’s are pursuing Drew, he wants to be paid upwards of $10 million dollars per year. This is just too high of an asking price especially since he played so poorly last season. Additionally, if the Athletics are looking for a stronger second baseman, they might want to look elsewhere since Drew has only played at second base for 34 games out of his entire eight year career in the MLB – he is normally a shortstop. Lastly, he is not that great defensively and the Athletics are known for taking defensively strong players over sluggers. Although the Oakland A’s have been linked to Drew, it is unlikely a deal will be made between this free agent and the Athletics.
Next, the Oakland A’s have been connected with Cuban second baseman Olivera. Even though the New York Yankees seem to be the frontrunners in the race to sign Olivera, the Athletics have been known to come from behind, shell out the money, and swoop up a great player from Cuba. Olivera has struggled with some health issues in 2012 and 2013, but he hit .316 with an .886 OPS in 2014 and has put up large numbers in the past. His bat could be a great addition to the Oakland A’s lineup.
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It is suspected that Olivera will not receive as much money as some of his fellow Cuban players, which is a plus for the budget conscious Oakland A’s. However, he is turning 30 this year and spent the majority of last season as a designated hitter. Additionally, Olivera missed the entire 2012-2013 season due to a blood clot in a blood vessel in his left bicep. So, there is some concern about his ability to still play in the middle infield. It will be interesting to see if the Oakland A’s are willing to sign a player who has dealt with such serious health issues in the past. However, we will have to wait to see if anything happens with Olivera since he is still not eligible to sign with an MLB team until he obtains residency papers and a license from the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
Both Drew and Olivera have their pros and cons. However, I think the negatives outweigh the positive attributes for both of these players. The Oakland A’s still have some tricks up their sleeve and want to make more moves this offseason. Let’s just hope the strengthening the second base position is one of the moves the Athletics are looking to make before the spring training.
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