Dee Strange-Gordon worth a look for Oakland A’s
It is clear that the Oakland A’s need to do something at short. Even with a ‘hot’ month of May, Elvis Andrus has still been a disaster in the batter’s box. It is also worth noting that his hot month involves .575 OPS and is hot only by comparison to his disastrous April. Chad Pinder can play shortstop, but is best used as a utility option instead of being slotted at the position every day.
Other internal options are not exactly compelling either. Vimael Machin has not proven he can hit in the majors. Nick Allen has been on fire, but is not quite ready to be called up to Oakland. There is, however, a possible option in free agency with Dee Strange-Gordon.
Dee Strange-Gordon could be the stopgap the Oakland A’s need
Strange-Gordon has had a strange offseason. He had been signed to a minor league deal by the Reds, who also have questions at short. However, he was let go, with Cincinnati deciding to use Eugenio Suarez at the position, releasing Strange-Gordon at the end of spring training.
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He was able to latch on to another team with shortstop woes in the Brewers. Luis Urias has not only continued to struggle with the bat, but his defense has been disastrous. There appeared to be an opportunity for Strange-Gordon to return to the majors, but Milwaukee traded for Willy Adames and released the veteran utility man.
These transactions could be to the A’s advantage. While Strange-Gordon likely has his eyes on finding a major league opportunity, he could accept a minor league deal with a need at short. The A’s would seemingly fit that description, as he could return to Triple-A and be ready in case Oakland does something with Andrus.
As it was, Strange-Gordon had a solid showing at Triple-A before the Brewers let him go. He had produced a .333/.378/.500 batting line in 45 plate appearances, stealing two bases while notching four extra base hits. Even though he had not spent much time at short over the past few years, he was back at the position in Nashville, showing solid range and looking as though he did not miss a beat.
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The Oakland A’s could use more organizational depth at shortstop. Dee Strange-Gordon would certainly be worth a look.