With incumbent third baseman Scott Sizemore lost for the season to a knee injury, the Oakland A’s will spend much of spring training auditioning his potential replacements. Not including Manny Ramirez.
FanGraphs: Scott Sizemore’s Injury Leaves The A’s In A Pickle
The blow has left the A’s in a bad position. On the one hand, since they’re highly unlikely to contend in 2012, there’s little sense of urgency with regard to finding a Sizemore replacement. On the other, you could say that Sizemore’s injury has left them exposed.
At FanGraphs, Jack Moore addresses the situation:
Read Article >Susan Slusser: A’s Hoping Prospect Wins Job At Third Base
Saturday, A’s third baseman Scott Sizemore went down with a knee injury. Monday, everyone’s worst fears were confirmed: Sizemore’s out for the entire season with a torn ACL. Worse (for the A’s), there’s not an obviously suitable replacement at hand. Somebody does have to play the position, though. Susan Slusser:
As I wrote Monday night, Donaldson’s minor-league statistics don’t suggest he’s quite ready to hit in the majors. And there’s just no telling if he can handle the strain of playing third base every day for a few months. But apparently he’s worth watching. According to Slusser, the A’s also have some interest in the Angels’ Alberto Callaspo, who’s without a position until/unless the club gives up on Mark Trumbo as a third baseman. Most interesting of all, the A’s might wind up looking at a weak group of (still) free-agent third basemen ... led by ex-Athletics superstar Miguel Tejada.
Read Article >Athletics Can’t Catch A Break At Third Base
The Athletics were known for letting their star players walk as free agents or giving them a boost by trading them off before their contracts expired. Chavez was different. The A’s signed him to a six-year, $66 million extension that began in 2005, a deal that looked like a bargain for the A’s at the time, given how consistent Chavez had been on both sides of the ball. We shouldn’t be surprised this is the guy that general manager Billy Beane decided to target, though:
“The only thing that will stop Chavvy is if he gets bored,” he says. “People don’t understand that. He continues to frustrate people who take him out of context. He is twenty four years old. What he’s done at twenty-four, no one has done. Health permitted, his whole career is a lock.”That’s from page 248 of Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game. The last line, in hindsight, is the most important. Chavez wasn’t healthy as early as year two of his new long-term deal, and that destroyed the rest of his career as a star at third. From 2007 through 2010 with the Athletics, Chavez hit a combined .233/.290/.399 and collected just 628 plate appearances. His glove didn’t collapse as much as his bat, but he was still essentially replacement level for a four-year period.
Read Article >A’s Lose 3B Scott Sizemore For 2012
Oakland Athletics third baseman Scott Sizemore (29) stretches during spring training at Papago Park Baseball Complex. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE Well, the Future isn’t Now. Monday evening, the A’s announced that Sizemore has torn the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee and will miss the entire 2012 season.
Update: Upon further review, it seems the A’s are considering prospect Josh Donaldson as Sizemore’s replacement. A sandwich draft pick five years ago, Donaldson’s been mostly a catcher in the minors but did play some third base with Sacramento last season. John Sickels rates him a C+ prospect; Baseball America ranked him this winter as the organization’s 20th-best prospect. The odds are obviously against him, but the club might be desperate.
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