Cristian Pache is going to be a key part of the Oakland A’s future. His success or failure will go a long way towards determining how quickly the A’s emerge from their latest rebuild. As he was one of the key pieces, if not the centerpiece, of the Matt Olson trade, expectations are going to be high.
Thus far, Pache has been a disappointment. While his defense was as advertised, Pache was easily one of the worst players in the majors offensively. His .159/.203/.224 batting line in 214 plate appearances was completely unplayable, even with his glove.
Oakland A’s have to hope Cristian Pache can figure it out
And yet, Pache was given chance after chance as he appeared in 68 or the A’s 72 games, with 60 starts. There was no harm in giving him as much time as possible to see if he can to figure things out. After all, the A’s are not going to contend this season.
It just never happened. Pache has just six hits in 54 plate appearances in June, striking out 18 times. As they are starting to get healthy, and are looking to give players on the trade block as much playing time as possible, there was no reason not to option him to the minors.
Maybe this stint in Triple-A will be the one that sticks. He has a .267/.331/.414 batting line in 458 plate appearances at the level, a solid enough performance. The A’s would take even 75% of that showing considering his Gold Glove caliber defense in center.
That is the question that the A’s need answered. Pache could be an exciting player if the bat ever translates to the major league level, an impressive defensive outfielder with some power and speed. He very well could be another Ramon Laureano. But he will need to figure it out soon in order to avoid being another Quad-A player and another highly touted prospect that just never panned out.
The Oakland A’s had no choice but to send Cristian Pache to Triple-A to get his bat on track. It is fair to wonder if he ever will at the major league level.