If Marcus Semien does leave the Oakland A’s in free agency, he may not be playing shortstop for his new team.
Marcus Semien is one of the top options available at shortstop this year. The Oakland A’s infielder had been a fixture at short, with every one of his appearances in Oakland coming at the position. In fact, he has not made an appearance in the majors away from short since 2014 when he was a member of the White Sox.
However, that is not a problem as far as potential suitors are concerned. According to reports, several teams are pursuing Semien as a second or third baseman.
Such a move would be a bit of a gamble for those interested teams. Semien has not appeared at either position since that aforementioned 2014 season, and was not exactly brilliant defensively at either position. In fact, he has just 50 games of major league experience at third and 29 games at second.
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Semien has produced a lifetime .254/.322/.425 batting line, hitting 115 homers and 170 doubles over his 3620 plate appearances. While his lifetime 105 OPS+ is skewed by his MVP caliber 2019 campaign, he has just that one year where he was better than a league average hitter. That lack of production would not hold up as a starting caliber third baseman.
It would, potentially, be enough for Semien to be a useful starter at second. However, his questionable defense could be an issue at the keystone. He had worked to make himself at least passable at short, but has cost teams one run in his limited time at second. Will those defensive gains at short be able to translate at a different position?
That is the key question that any team looking to have Semien shift away from short will have to ask. To this point, there appears to be a decent amount of optimism that will be the case, as he has teams inquiring about his willingness to move to another position. It could be a matter of teams doing their due diligence, or a sign that Semien is set to move to another franchise.
The Oakland A’s want Marcus Semien back. However, if he is willing to play another position, they may face more competition for his services than expected.