Building blocks already in majors for Oakland A’s

Infield and catcher

Even if the results have not been there, the Oakland A’s have some building blocks on the infield.

Seth Brown could be someone that the A’s look to trade. However, he leads the team in homers, is under team control for four more years and has yet to reach arbitration, and can play in the outfield if necessary. If he does shift to a more regular spot in the outfield, Dermis Garcia has plenty of power but has also struck out 23 times in 55 plate appearances entering Tuesday. The A’s cannot count on him at this point.

Nick Allen is an intriguing option as a building block. His glove has been major league ready since he was drafted and has lived up to its billing. The problem is whether or not he will hit enough to stay in the lineup as well, just as that question exists for Cristian Pache. The difference is that Allen has displayed more flashes that he can stick than Pache has thus far.

Then there is Jonah Bride. He has spent time at second, third, and first at the major league level thus far, but was also learning how to be a catcher last season. Bride received 11 games behind the plate in the minors this year, making it possible that he could see action there in the majors at some point. Considering his solid track record of production in the minors, he could be an intriguing super utility option.

The future has arrived behind the plate. While Sean Murphy has become one of the best catchers in the game and has three years of team control left, Shea Langeliers is cheaper and has nothing left to prove in the minors. Murphy is likely to be traded this offseason, leaving Langeliers as the primary catcher and another building block for the Oakland A’s on the infield dirt.