Oakland Athletics: Offseason Assessment
By Jason Burke
Wants
Sep 20, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics second baseman Eric Sogard (28) is unable to control the ball against the Philadelphia Phillies during the eighth inning at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
The A’s could use a power-hitting right-handed bat that can also play left field and has a cannon for an arm. This is not the time for Yoenis Cespedes jokes. If the roster holds, Brandon Moss could be seeing a lot of time in left, with Coco Crisp and Josh Reddick taking the majority of the time in center and right.
However, if the A’s had a better defensive left fielder than Jonny Gomes (or if Craig Gentry had been healthy) in the Wild Card game, the ball that Eric Hosmer hit off the wall gets caught, and the Royals would have suffered their first, and, only loss of this postseason two weeks ago.
The team could also use a second baseman, let’s be honest. While I wouldn’t classify this as a “need” it would help it there was a changing of the guard up the middle. Sogard can suffice. But do I really want him to? Not necessarily.