Taking stock of the A's utility player options
This story was excerpted from Mart¨ªn Gallegos¡¯ A¡¯s Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
With only about a month left until the start of Spring Training, it¡¯s time to look ahead at some potential roster battles for the A¡¯s.
While there are sure to be specific positions up for grabs, we¡¯ll start with the role of utility man. The A¡¯s place a high value on positional versatility, and there are a few players coming into camp who fit that mold. Let¡¯s take a look at some of the names:
Aledmys Díaz
D¨ªaz provided important leadership for several young Latin players in the A¡¯s clubhouse, but his on-field performance was underwhelming. Signed to a two-year deal last offseason, he hit .229 with a .616 OPS in 109 games and saw his playing time decrease over the second half of 2023.
When healthy, D¨ªaz has proven capable of producing some solid campaigns over his career, and he¡¯ll look to earn a chance at a bounce-back season.
Abraham Toro
The A¡¯s will be Toro¡¯s fourth different organization over the last four years, which is somewhat rare for a player who just turned 27 last month. A lot of clubs have been enamored with his tools and positional flexibility, and Oakland, which acquired Toro from the Brewers in November in exchange for Minor League right-hander?Chad Patrick, hopes to be the one that can finally see those traits fully blossom at the Major League level.
Toro spent most of last season at Triple-A Nashville, where he hit .291 with eight home runs and 58 RBIs in 96 games. He did appear in nine games with the Brewers, going 8-for-18 (.444) with two homers and nine RBIs. Over five big league seasons, however, Toro is a .211 hitter with a .636 OPS.
The A's know Toro well from days spent playing in the American League West as a member of the Astros and Mariners from 2019-22. Bringing an ability to play third, second and first base, as well as some outfield, the switch-hitter will be an intriguing player to watch this spring.
¡°Toro is a versatile player and one of those veteran guys that has been on some winning teams,¡± A¡¯s manager?Mark Kotsay?said during last month¡¯s Winter Meetings. ¡°We¡¯ve had a couple of conversations. He¡¯s open to playing anywhere and everywhere. The switch-hitting aspect, we haven¡¯t had many switch-hitters in our lineup over the last two seasons. It obviously gives me the opportunity to have some flexibility in utilizing him in the lineup on a daily basis.¡±
Max Schuemann
Rated Oakland¡¯s?No. 22 prospect?by MLB Pipeline, Schuemann did all he could to make the A¡¯s take note of his performance down in the Minors last season by posting a combined .832 OPS with 10 home runs, 20 doubles 51 RBIs and 23 stolen bases in 116 games, 103 of which came at Triple-A Las Vegas.
Schuemann, who has played every position except pitcher and catcher in his five Minor League seasons, was a candidate to be selected in last month¡¯s?Rule 5 Draft. Remaining in the organization, he will join the A¡¯s in big league camp as a non-roster invitee and will get a chance to continue putting himself on the Major League radar.