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The A’s Quest for a Shortstop

Stephen DrewWhen the A’s acquired Stephen Drew from the Arizona Diamondbacks in August they knew he would only be a temporary fix at shortstop. His contract was only to the end of the season, but he did have a hefty $10 million mutual option for 2013 season. Before the playoffs even ended, the team had sent off their opening day short stop to Arizona for outfielder Chris Young. After the World Series, to no one’s surprise, the A’s and Stephen Drew turned down the option, leaving a big gaping hole for the A’s to fill at shortstop this offseason.

Now the latest trade in Oakland has fans wondering if the shortstop problem has been solved for the A’s. Pitcher Tyson Ross was shipped off to San Diego along with first baseman AJ Kirby-Jones in exchange for pitcher Andrew Werner and infielder Andy Parrino.

Andy Parrino played in 55 games for the Padres last season. In over 138 plate appearances, he posted a .207/.316/.276 slash line while hitting 1 HR and driving in 11 runs. Parrino also had a .253 wOBA and a 61 wRC+. So his numbers were not great last season, but it is also a very small sample size. Ultimately, I think Parrino will join the likes of Eric Sogard and Adam Rosales and be used strictly as a utility player. Although Susan Slusser suggested otherwise when she tweeted that he is “very much in the mix” for the starting shortstop position, I just don’t see him as a long term solution.

There is still a chance that Billy Beane will trade for an everyday shortstop. Even though he has said he is not willing to part with one of the starting pitchers or one of the four outfielders he has collected over the past year, Beane has never been shy about pulling the trigger on a trade to his liking.

Ken Rosenthal has also suggested that the A’s might look to sign Japanese shortstop, Hiroyuki Nakajima. Last season the Yankees won the bidding rights for the 30-year old shortstop, but he returned to Japan after the two could not reach an agreement. This season he is a free agent and can go to any team of his choosing.  He had stand out numbers with the Seibu Lions, posting a .311/.382/.451 slash line with a .833 OPS in 136 games. With over 567 plate appearances, he had 13 HR, 74 RBI, walked 52 times and struck out 76 times. Over his six-year career he has a .310/.381/.474 slash line with a .856 OPS.  There is absolutely no indication that the A’s are indeed interested, but I don’t see any reason why the team would not at least check in on him.

My first choice has always been to resign shortstop Stephen Drew to a contract. Stephen Drew is easily the best shortstop available in the market and he proved in Oakland that his ankle injury is all in the past. Over 172 plate appearances with the A’s, he posted a .250/.326/.348 slash line with a .310 wOBA and 97 wRC+. The A’s do have their first round pick Addison Russell waiting in the wings, but he probably will not be ready until at least the mid 2014 season. My proposal is to sign Drew to a 3-year $20 million contract, and although that might be expensive, it is not unreasonable.

It’s still early in the offseason and the A’s have many different options, including three in-house. I do not know what Billy Beane is thinking at this point, but I would have to think he knows Andy Parrino is simply not the answer to the void that needs to be filled.

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