[thehatfield]

Shortstops

#55 Reydel Vazquez 29, $350,000, Bats Right, Throws Right (.277 1HR 6RBI 65AB 13K 8BB)
American Vazquez is a good defensive shortstop with an average arm and a solid gap hitter. He’s an automatic re-sign and even though he only started 17 games at shortstop last year he’s the sort of versatile veteran that can play the entire infield that are handy to have on the roster. Vazquez is a .281 career hitter with a lifetime .335 OBP in 391 career at-bats. Vazquez was originally a 16th round pick of the Cleveland Indians in 2011 and has also spent time with the Colorado Rockies, Philadelphia Phillies, Baltimore Orioles and Cincinnati Reds.

#27 Arturo Montanio 26, $350,000, Bats Left, Throws Right (.250 1HR 11RBI 100AB 32K 4BB)
Montanio doesn’t seem to like to walk and it showed with a .279 OBP in 100 at-bats last season. Montanio started 17 games at short last year but also played a little third where he was actually better defensively and second where he was considerably worse. He’s an auto-resign but he ended the year with AAA Sacramento and he’s really just a spare part. Whereas versatility worked in favor of veteran Reydel Vazquez, Montanio’s non-mastery of any position is just something that we won’t need going forward.

#19 Vicente Rosas 25, $350,000, Bats Right, Throws Right (.238 0HR 1RBI 21AB 4K 0BB)
Rosas was a defensive replacement at shortstop last season, appearing in 19 games before torn ankle ligaments ended his season in May. He’s still on the disabled list. He was drafted in the 12th round in 2013 by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and went to the Florida Marlins before becoming an A on a minor league deal prior to last season. We’re not going to be able to evaluate him accurately until we see what he looks like in spring training but he might not last long enough with the organization to get that look.

On The Farm
25-year old Sacramento second baseman Ken McCree was actually the starting shortstop for the Athletics last season. The former Pittsburgh Pirates property hit just .223 with a .274 OBP & .279 SLG in 86 starts and 319 at-bats. He’s not ready for the Majors in my opinion and I want him out of the organization. Stockton Ports’ A-level shortstop Brandt Margerson is a tremendous defensive talent with a strong arm, the best natural shortstop in the organization.

Analysis
Well what do you know? We need a shortstop too! This will be a focus during the free agent period, throughout the winter and for the rookie draft.


Left Fielders

#14 Patrick Sanner 27, $350,000, Bats Right, Throws Right (.271 21HR 91RBI 598AB 156K 39BB)
The everyday left fielder last season, Sanner is a good corner outfielder with an average arm and is one of the names being mentioned when folks talk about the American League Rookie of the Year. The former Detroit Tigers prospect came to the A’s prior to last season after appearing in three games for Detroit in 2019. Still, he was a 12th round pick, strikes out far too often and doesn’t figure to ever be a huge homerun threat. He may be a great bargaining piece this winter especially if he is able to capture the ROY award.

#39 Rohan Hanshaw 32, $405,000, Bats Right, Throws Left (.219 3HR 12RBI 228AB 55K 19BB)
Hanshaw had 50 starts in center field for the A’s last season and spelled Patrick Sanner in left when Sanner needed a rest even though he’s been playing left field for most of his baseball life. He’s got some speed which makes him a stolen base threat and he’s got pretty good range for a left fielder but the 10-year veteran and former 2nd round pick of the Los Angeles Angels just doesn’t hit consistently enough to justify a place on the team. I think we can find someone for the minimum salary that would be just as good defensive cover yet also carry a higher potential upside. Hanshaw’s contract is expiring this year and will not be renewed.

#59 Javier Raymundo 26, $350,000, Bats Left, Throws Right (.500 0HR 0RBI 2AB 1K 0BB)
The last left fielder on the 40-man roster is Raymundo who has a tremendous upside but is getting close to the age where the talk is turning to him being a bust. He was a 1st round, 7th overall choice of the A’s in the 2016 draft and has failed to produce, spending most of last season with AA Midland RockHounds where he hit .312 with a .395 OBP in 382 at-bats. Raymundo will be invited to spring training with the big club as we’re not ready to give up on him just yet.

On The Farm
22-year old Pasqual Feliu, the #1 overall draft choice in 2017, is still one of the top prospects in baseball. He’s got a powerful arm and plenty of potential to develop into a quality hitter. He spent the entire season at Triple A last year and hit .296 with a .360 OBP and .412 SLG while knocking 12 homers and collecting 54 RBI. 125 strikeouts was certainly too many but he’ll have a chance to make the club out of spring training next year. 19-year old speedster Carlyle Chamberlain spent the majority of last season playing A-level baseball.

Analysis
We’ve got some talented left fielders coming up but we’re probably going to need a solid Major Leaguer to hold down the position for one more year before Feliu is ready to spend an entire season with the big club. We can be frugal and underspend to ensure Feliu will get some playing time or try to work out a trade with Sanner for a bit of an upgrade in terms of hitting. I’m leaning towards the latter


Center Fielders

#6 Vic “Devine” Dunn 25, $350,000, Bats Left, Throws Left (.244 8HR 26RBI 365AB 103K 47BB)
Dunn spent time with the St. Louis Cardinals and Seattle Mariners before coming to Oakland in a trade for a starting pitcher in 2015. He is a well-regarded fielder who in 2017 won the American League Gold Glove award for center fielders despite missing two months with a fractured cheekbone. His good speed helps with his outstanding range but he’s regarded as a below average hitter in all measurable categories. Dunn, the only center fielder on the 40-man roster, is another automatic re-sign and another player that might find himself either in a new uniform or looking for a new uniform before the end of the winter.

On The Farm
If 20-year old Colombian Francisco Quinenes can improve making contact this winter there’s no reason to believe that the man who blasted 40 homeruns at AAA Sacramento last year wouldn’t be an everyday center fielder next year. Quinenes was a second round pick of the Athletics and 39th overall in 2018 and has been improving steadily as he’s worked his way up the ranks. Otherwise there are slim picking between the rest of the center fielders in the system – a bunch of fast guys that can’t hit.

Analysis
We need outfielders! Once again we’ll be looking at center fielders in the draft and may try to sign a proven center fielder to a one or two-year deal to help Quinenes develop at a slower pace. We loosely determine that this position and starting pitching will be the main focus of the free agent market.


Right Fielders

#16 Bertram Holsinger 29, $350,000, Bats Left, Throws Left (.238 8HR 34RBI 412AB 109K 37BB)
Holsinger started 70 games in right and 30 in center field last season. He’s a former second round pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2014 and the A’s aggressively went after him and acquired him the very next year. Holsinger made his Major League debut with the Athletics in 2017 and became a “mostly-regular” starter in 2019. The fact that this team didn’t commit to one lineup or have clear roles about starters and backups is a factor that I think really helped sabotage last season for Oakland. We were going to have more clearly defined roles within the team starting with next season. Bert didn’t have a great year at the plate and Gaspar says he probably never will. He’s got great speed and baserunning instincts but that’s not exactly what I want from a right fielder. Maybe we can try converting him to a center fielder.

#44 Tom Gregor 36, $350,000, Bats Right, Throws Right (.254 2HR 20RBI 319AB 105K 30BB)
Last year Gregor started 66 games in right field and 13 at second base! The former 20th round draft pick of the St. Louis Cardinals back in 2006 doesn’t have a lot of power and can’t make consistent contact with just 39 homers and a .260 career batting average in 4,178 at-bats. There’s absolutely no chance he’ll be part of the team next season.

On The Farm
27-year old San Diego native Ian Talbot is on the 40-man roster and hit .271 with 8 homers in 377 at-bats for Triple-A Sacramento. Also on the 40-man roster is the 3rd round pick of the Athletics in 2014 Fritz Toles who split time between AA and AAA last year. The fans want to see Fritzy up with the A’s as soon as possible just because of his name but he may never develop the sort of quality plate discipline required to be an everyday Major Leaguer. 19-year old Don Manning could probably make it to the big show one day but it was going to take a lot of work.

Analysis
What a surprise – we could use an upgrade at right field as well. It was going to be one heck of a wild winter that was one thing that was cerrtain!

Well we made it through each of the in-depth reports on the players taking up spots on the 40-man roster and we needed a break. We were going to wait until next Monday before coming back together to make decisions on contract extensions, trade proposals and pink slips with fresh eyes.