Questions in the Infield: Oakland’s middle infield issues

There isn’t a middle infielder on the A’s roster who is a certain starter in 2015. At least, not in my opinion. 2014 was a season of question marks, and the infield questions loom large heading into the winter.

2014 saw a decline in production from shortstop Jed Lowrie, and although he played in 136 games, he suffered from a slight injury bug, as has been an issue in his career prior to his Oakland stint. Eric Sogard batted his usual .223% while putting in impressive glove work. Alberto Callaspo also held a .223 average after getting off to a hot start, but is pretty much a goner in free agency, so doesn’t mean much to this issue.

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May 31, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics second baseman Eric Sogard (28) flips the ball to shortstop Jed Lowrie (8) while turning a double play during the seventh inning against the Chicago White Sox at O.Co Coliseum. The Oakland Athletics defeated the Chicago White Sox 3-0. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

Lowrie’s a free agent too, you say? Well, although he doesn’t seem like he’s going to be offering the A’s a small-market discount, I personally don’t see Lowrie exceeding Oakland’s spending possibilities, even though at one point I did. The reason? He’s run-of-the-mill. He really is about as average as you can get, on offense, and, surprisingly to some, on defense. From Fangraphs, out of 22 qualified shortstops, Lowrie was 14th in WAR last season, tolling a 1.9. That leaves him just ahead of Asdrubal Cabrera (1.8), and just behind Jordy Mercer (2.0). Both Cabrera and Mercer, however, played 10 and 13 games more than Lowrie, respectively.

Lowrie’s ultimate zone rating (UZR) of 0.6, puts him 11th out of those 22, behind Brandon Crawford (1.0) and right ahead of Mercer (0.5). According to FG, a zero UZR is average. An issue for Lowrie is that his defensive runs saved is one of the worst among qualified shortstops, at -10, good for 18th.

Do I see the A’s making a qualifying offer to Lowrie? NO WAY. He’s not worth it, which is why no one will give him anything remotely close to that price. But I do think the A’s try to stick with Lowrie for maybe a year or two if they can, to add some time to develop a minor league talent, a la Daniel Robertson, the 20-year-old Midland Rockhound.

Now, I could see the A’s try Eric Sogard at shortstop as well and look into the cheaper second base market, possibly a Kelly Johnson (a career .333% OBP) type for a one-year deal. Eric Sogard himself has multiple questions: Is his glove worth the lack of bat? Can the A’s afford to have basically a pitcher in the nine hole? Sogard batted well in the second half, compared to the horrendous batting averages of the other A’s players as they collapsed down the stretch, but doesn’t offer much to a lineup.

Sogard’s glove is what has him in the majors; he boasts a UZR and fielding percentage good for ninth out of 26 second basemen with more than 600 innings. With that said, I think, testing him out at shortstop could be the smartest, and cheapest thing to do this off-season. Remember, the A’s still have to look for a bat, and that won’t be cheap. With the salary issues they have year in and year out, they have to be thrifty and that’s what Billy Beane does best.