Billy Beane wasted zero time in jumping back on the horse in preparation for the 2013 season in acquiring another member to the Athletics. Oakland shipped off the longest tenured positional player left on the roster, Cliff Pennington, and SS prospect/former 2nd round selection in 2010, Yordy Cabrera, to the desert for veteran center fielder, Chris Young. Beane reportedly contacted Kevin Towers, the GM for Arizona, in regards to Young's availability the day following Oakland's LDS elimination. Young, an elite defensive CF, hit .231/.311/.434 in 2012 with a 97 wRC+, .325 wOBA, 2.8 fWAR, a .263 BABIP and 14 HR in 363 PA during the 2012 season. Before that, CY had consecutive 4.6 fWAR campaigns in 2010 and 2011 in where he had over 20 HR and 20 SBs, albeit with over 640 PAs in each season. Young is owed 8.5 million in 2013, and Arizona ate 500,000 of that total in the exchange which signals, as Beane admitted, that the payroll will expand for the upcoming season. If Drew's option were to be exercised, which seems all the more likely after Pennington's departure, Oakland would have four players (Young, Crisp, Drew, and Cespedes) who would receive excess of 34 million dollars next season. A rare sight in Oakland.
It would also mean the Athletics would have two center fielders with contracts of over seven million each in 2013 in the incumbent, Coco Crisp, and the challenger, Young. Initially, it seemed as though this swap assured Crisp of being dealt at some point during this remaining offseason. However, Beane declared that every outfielder signed through 2013 would return, making Jonny Gomes the odd man out. Gomes, a flamboyant clubhouse personality and Petaluma native rapidly became not only a fan favorite in the Coliseum, but also one of the crucial offenive pieces at Bob Melvin's disposal. Gomes clocked in a career campaign with a 2.1 fWAR in 333 PA along with a .376 wOBA and a 142 wRC+. However, he is unlikely to replicate this sort of season again and thus opens the door for CY to test the waters of the AL. Young surely won't match Gomes' ridiculous 20.5% HR/FB (Young's highest HR/FB of his career was 15.6% which came during his 2007 year. A relatively low mark for a 32 HR season in Arizona). Where Young trumps Gomes and practically everyone else but Reddick on the roster is his defensive presence. CY has had a UZR ecipsing 11.0 for two straight years and has made his share of showstopping plays while preventing runs throughout his career. One could say the same for Crisp, which would be true to some extent. However, Coco arguably has the worst throwing arm of any outfielder in baseball, which was exaggerated this past season while being flanked by such cannon arms as Yoenis Cespedes and Josh Reddick.
Crisp obviously is a favorite and deserves his share of opportunities during the season, but Young has shown to be a consistent force in his own right. While Crisp has a minuscule K%, Young has shown a higher propensity in drawing walks and has slightly more pop. No to mention the difference between theirs WARs over the past three seasons (Young: 11.7/ Crisp: 8.2) and their UZRs over the previous two (Young: 25.4/ Crisp: -6.4) is noticeable. Still, a platoon is unlikely and DHing Young squanders the majority of his value. But, an entire offseason and spring awaits for this new contender to find a niche on the squad.
The other shakeup that comes from this is that of a vacant starting middle infield spot. Drew, if picked up, is sure to start at shortstop the entire season. The absent post comes at second base, where Pennington occupied after Drew's acquisition. Beane has announced that Sizemore, who missed the entirety of 2012 with a torn ACL, would return to his original position at second base. This also will allow Rosales and Green to wiggle their way into the opening day picture.
There's still over three months until the next Athletics event (FanFest January 27th), so hold on because Beane might not be done just yet...
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