The Athletics are expected to add a few players on the free agency market, but a lot of that should come on the mound. Looking at what the A’s did a year ago offensively, it was obvious that this is arguably one of the best offensive teams in baseball when they were clicking.
However, there’s still reason to believe they could go out and add another bat, especially with a revolving door at second and third base at times.
Zack Gelof hasn’t exactly played well, and with some of his nagging injuries, he might not be the guy the Athletics want up the middle moving forward to pair with Jacob Wilson.
When searching for who that player might be, Will Laws of Sports Illustrated predicted that Jorge Polanco could be the one.
“Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto drew a lot of criticism last offseason for seemingly not sufficiently upgrading his team’s offense, but Polanco’s career-best campaign went a long way toward dispelling those concerns. Even before he came up with clutch hit after clutch hit during Seattle’s postseason run, the switch-hitter provided plenty of thump in the middle of the Mariners’ lineup while posting a career-high 132 wRC+. Defense has never exactly been Polanco’s calling card, but he can still cut it as one of the league’s most dangerous second basemen if his suitors don’t want to carve out the DH spot for him,” he wrote.
Polanco would be a nice addition for the Athletics, but only if he comes at the right price. He’s 32 years old, so unless Oakland really goes out and adds a few arms this winter, he likely doesn’t fit that young timeline.
However, it might not be the most surprising thing to see Oakland try to add a few arms, too. They’re truly a few bullpen and starting rotation pieces away from being very good.
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