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Marlins Searching for a First Baseman–Athletics Have Plenty

By Jason Burke |

According to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, the Miami Marlins are looking for a first baseman to acquire via trade. According to the piece, Jackson says that the Marlins have already inquired about both Evan Gattis of Atlanta and Chris Davis of Baltimore. Jackson also speculates that it could potentially take top prospect Andrew Heaney to land either of these options.

What the heck does this have to do with the A’s? It’s simple: Brandon Moss is a better potential acquisition for the Marlins, and he could also he readily available. Last week in our Winter Meetings Simulation, I compared Evan Gattis to Josh Reddick. Brandon Moss is a greater offensive threat than Reddick, and therefore Gattis. He has also played first base, while Gattis has been primarily a catcher and outfielder.

Chris Davis has had some monster seasons, hitting 33, 53, and 26 home runs in the past three seasons. The power is there, but in 2014, Davis hit just .196. Sure, his rbi total was still decent, bringing in 72, but the Orioles are have a better offensive team (8th in runs scored), that leant protection to Davis with the likes of Adam Jones and Nelson Cruz. In Miami (16th in runs scored), Davis would need to be the protector for Giancarlo Stanton, and if he isn’t producing, then he isn’t protecting.

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Davis is also a free agent after 2015, which could make the trade a short-term rental, which, in my estimation is not worth a top prospect. If, in fact, the Marlins are willing to part with Heaney for their first base woes, Moss is the option they should consider. The argument can be made that the Marlins are just looking for a player to platoon with current first baseman Garrett Jones. If this is the case, again Moss is the better option.

Jones hits better against righties, holding a .250 average, with all of his home runs coming against right-handers, while batting just .221 against lefties in 2014. Moss hit .264 against lefties last season, and exhibited some power against them as well, hitting 4 homers in 87 at-bats. Chris Davis, in his MVP-caliber season, hit for power against lefties, crushing 13 over the fence, but hit just .235 in 217 at-bats. Last season he hit .188 against LHP, and .196 overall, essentially negating much of the good his power provides by being an out in 8 of 10 at-bats.

Given as many at-bats as Davis had against LHP in 2013, Moss would have hit 10 homers against lefties, while still batting 29 points higher.

Moving on to what a potential suitor would get in return for their first baseman: Andrew Heaney. Before the 2014 season, Heaney was ranked the #29 prospect in baseball by MLB.com. Heaney got a look in the big leagues, appearing in seven games (5 starts) and accumulating a 5.83 ERA, and showing a propensity for giving up the long ball on six occasions. One of those six was off the bat of Nate Freiman the day he was recalled from Triple-A–a three run blast that gave the A’s the lead and, eventually, the win.

There is still plenty of room for growth for the 23-year old lefty, and he could make a nice pairing with Sonny Gray atop the A’s rotation after 2015. If the Marlins are interested in Brandon Moss, I make this trade. Ike Davis and Kyle Blanks provide options to fill Moss’ shoes, and Heaney is a highly touted prospect that could play a major role in the next wave of A’s young talent.

A rotation of Gray, Heaney, Drew Pomeranz, Jarrod Parker and A.J. Griffin would be intact until Parker became a free agent after 2017. Add in young prospects Daniel Robertson, Matt Olson and Renato Nunez, and the A’s would have a solid young nucleus to build around. Heck, all of those players outside of Heaney is already locked up for the next few seasons. The A’s have that nucleus. Now is the time to add on.

Billy Beane has said that this offseason he wants to both improve his farm system and add pieces to his major league club. This is one way that he can do both in the short and long-term.

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