Oakland Athletics Claim Danny Valencia Off Waivers From Toronto
By Casey Witt
According to the Oakland Athletics via Twitter, the organization has successfully claimed the versatile Danny Valencia off waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday. This news was announced shortly after ambidextrous pitcher Pat Venditte was reinstated from the disabled list with a right shoulder strain; and immediately optioned to Triple-A Nashville.
#Athletics claim Danny Valencia off waivers from Toronto; reinstate Pat Venditte from the DL and option him to Nashville
— Oakland A's (@Athletics) August 3, 2015
Valencia is out of options, therefore the Athletics will have to place him on the 25-man roster and make a corresponding move to successfully complete the transaction. The 30-year-old veteran from Miami, Florida is quite the game changer offensively, especially against south paws — owning a career line of .326/.369/.497 in 634 plate appearances. In 2015, Valencia has nearly matched those numbers with the Blue Jays — posting an impressive slash line of .316/.366/.461 in 82 at-bats. There is no question that these statistics speak for themselves and the potential impact it could have in the A’s line-up; considering the fact that the green and gold possess a 7-19 record against left-handed starting pitchers this season.
It is safe to assume that with his career .353 batting average and .918 OPS versus the green and gold, Valencia will be welcomed with open arms. Let’s not forget what he’s doing at the dish as a whole with the Blue Jays this season: the right hander has posted a brilliant .296 average with seven long balls and an OPS of .838 in 58 games to drool over!
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From the field, Valencia can man several positions including, but not limited to, third base and left field, with occasional appearances in right field and at first base. Joe Stiglich from CSN California believes that with Oakland’s most recent acquisition, it is possible that current third baseman Brett Lawrie could see some playing time at second base. This shouldn’t be much of an adjustment for Lawrie, who has played a total of 33 games at second base in his major league career. With his range and strong arm he should have no problem making the necessary modifications on days when Valencia is at the hot corner.
@21st_PTBNL I could definitely see Lawrie playing some 2B, but doubt it would be full-time switch.
— Joe Stiglich (@Joe_Stiglich) August 3, 2015
With this move, it now seems very likely that third baseman/first baseman Max Muncy will be optioned to Triple-A Nashville; as a result, making space for the ailing Coco Crisp, who is set to return to the active roster in the next day or so.
For the meantime, it seems that Valencia will serve as the green and gold’s utility man, similar to Ben Zobrist’s role on the ball club before he was traded to Kansas City last week. Because he is under team control through 2017, the right-handed hitter could be a viable option for the Athletics organization as they evaluate their status heading into the 2015 off-season.