Oakland A’s sign actual major league talent in Jace Peterson

Someone check to see if John Fisher was visited by the ghosts of Baseball Past, Present, and Future. The Oakland A’s actually signed viable major league talent in free agency.

According to Bernie Pleskoff at Forbes.com, the A’s have signed Jace Peterson. Although the financial aspect is not yet known, it is supposed to be a two year deal.

Oakland A’s surprisingly sign player others wanted in Jace Peterson

This move would seemingly be the antithesis everything the A’s have stood for over the past few years. They have waited until just before spring training, if not into camp, before signing players as they looked for bargains. Considering that the A’s are tearing everything down once again, any signing beyond a minor league deal would have been implausible.

Peterson is the type of player that the A’s can use on their roster. He has spent significant time at both corner outfield positions, second, and third over his career. As second and third in particular are question marks moving forward, he makes perfect sense to fill those gaps.

He has also been useful with the bat over the past few seasons. Peterson has a respectable .238/.337/.370 batting line in his 691 plate appearances since the beginning of the 2020 campaign, hitting 16 homers and 26 doubles while stealing 23 bases. He is not a star by any means, but he is a solid utility player that can fill in wherever needed.

The A’s are still rebuilding. Sean Murphy is going to be traded and John Fisher is not going to suddenly start spending on the roster. However, it would seem that questions about what the A’s are doing with their revenue sharing money are starting to come to a head as payroll is being slashed to ridiculous levels. Peterson could be a sign that the A’s are going to start spending, even if it is a modest amount.

The Oakland A’s have brought in viable major league talent. Jace Peterson has reportedly signed a two year deal to come to the Bay Area.