A Quick Look At Grant Green’s Failed Audition

Jul 22, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Oakland Athletics second baseman

(35) drives in a run with a sacrifice fly during the sixth inning against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

A few years ago I published a story about Grant Green and how he was going to be a face of the future for the Athletics. The former USC short stop did not immediately impress many fans during his short stint with Oakland this past week or so.

As Oakland’s No.1 pick from the 2009 draft, Green represented, at least, initially, a sense of hope for the future at short. That hope has faded with each passing year and Green’s defensive problems have definitely been partially responsible for his demise. Green is a solid hitter, but his defense has been shaky, at best, for much of his professional career.

He committed three errors over the course of five games and currently has nine errors to his credit with Triple-A Sacramento. The A’s have moved him all over the diamond in hopes of finding a spot in the field where his defense becomes less problematic, but they are finding that Green’s glove just isn’t major league ready.

For the A’s, Green’s drop in value does not help. Jed Lowrie, who was brought to Oakland this past offseason, is playing exceptionally well for the team, but his defense at short has been tough to watch at times. Lowrie has committed 12 errors at short and two at second for 14 total errors on the year so far. Shaky defense does not bode well for a team looking to capture their second consecutive division title.

The A’s handed Green a shot to prove something, albeit in a short period of time to do so. He wasn’t able to prove much other than his defense has some glaring holes in it still. With the trade deadline approaching, the thought that the A’s called Green up merely to showcase him to other teams does start to seem like a reasonable possibility. The A’s have been linked to various trade rumors revolving around 2B Chase Utley and SP Jake Peavy in the past week or so.

In any deal including a guy like Utley, however, the A’s would need to cough up more than a former top prospect in Green. Perhaps someone like a Michael Choice. It is difficult to imagine the A’s giving up such a talented player like Choice, given the A’s visible problems on offense, but stranger things have happened.

Oakland could very well give Green another chance at the big leagues this year and use him as a utility infielder. His initial audition to showcase his talents not only to the A’s, but to the rest of the league, did not impress, however.