Elephant Rumblings: Are we sticking with in-house for second base?

MLB news roundup

Summarized by AI ⓘ

What is the story about?

Morning A’s fans!

The offseason has been quiet for the A’s but there’s been lots of movement this past weekend that could have down-the-road implications for the A’s and their search to upgrade on the free agent and trade markets.

The big shoe to drop this past weekend was the massive three-team, six-player trade that saw Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe head to Pittsburgh, young Pirates starter Mike Burrows traded to Houston, and Tampa getting prospects. Now that Lowe is off the proverbial board any

teams still in need of second base will have to move on to their Plan B’s and C’s, including the A’s.

Lowe was never directly connected in trade rumors to the A’s but the fit would have made general sense on paper. The Athletics are in need of second base help and adding an All-Star caliber player like Lowe would have added a big left-handed bat to the lineup. That said Lowe is on an expiring contract, not exactly fitting the A’s long-term timeline. Adding him would have helped this year, sure. But the A’s aren’t “going for it” this upcoming season and adding Lowe is the type of move you push your chips in for when you think he’s the final piece. The A’s aren’t ready for that move just yet.

Lowe is now off the market and the options are dwindling. On the trade front the Cardinals are in sell mode and have second baseman/utility man Brendan Donovan, who has attracted lots of attention this winter. Arizona has also been listening on expensive cornerstone Ketel Marte. The price for both of these guys likely just went up thanks to Lowe no longer being an option and that’s likely taken the A’s out of consideration, if they were in on either of them in the first place. Donovan will cost too much in the way of prospect capital and Marte has a massive contract that would soak up any dollars the A’s front office has to play with.

On the free agent market the pickings are even slimmer. Former batting champion Luis Arraez is still available but is more of a first baseman these days. Willi Castro can play all over on defense but isn’t a great fielder at any of them as well as being a below-average hitter. Jose Iglesias is still a solid defender but horrible in the batter’s box and he’ll be 36 next year. And all the other options below those guys have even bigger question marks. If you haven’t solved your second base problem by now, you’re just about out of time.

Which is where the A’s find themselves in. Not that they were ever going to be serious suitors for top-of-the-market guys like Jorge Polanco or Gleyber Torres (who didn’t even hit free agency, instead accepting his QO from the Yankees). We’ve heard reports and rumors that the A’s have been kicking the tires on second and third basemen and now it seems the Athletics have few options remaining to them.

Currently it seems that former top prospect Zack Gelof will get first crack at the job when everyone reports in a couple months though he hasn’t done much to inspire confidence over the past couple of years. Former first-rounder Max Muncy got time at the keystone last year and had some moments but generally looked overmatched against tougher pitching. Max Schuemann is best suited for a utility role and not everyday at-bats. Unless the A’s have a massive change of heart it seems like these are the three guys who will be vying for the starting second base spot come Opening Day. At least we should be getting an answer one way or another regarding Gelof. And maybe we throw in another name before the winter is out? We’ll see.

Have a great Christmas week everyone!

A’s Coverage: