Oakland’s Ike Davis Acquisition Implications

If you haven’t heard, Oakland acquired first baseman Ike Davis for some international signing money on Sunday. Now we’re all on the same page. What is interesting about this deal is that Oakland already has plenty of players that can play first, and also have a full-time DH ready in Billy Butler. So just what are the A’s doing? As always, we now must wait for the other shoe to drop.

Currently, the A’s have Brandon Moss, Davis, Butler, Nate Freiman, Kyle Blanks, and John Jaso (possibly) all primed for first base. Moss and Blanks can also patrol the outfield, but aren’t the fleetest of foot. With this many options on the right side of the diamond, barring three of these players getting traded, Nate Freiman is likely starting the season in Nashville. We can also assume that Butler won’t be going anywhere, so now we are down to four.

As Susan Slusser wrote, if the A’s can’t make a deal by this time next month, Ike Davis could also be non-tendered, making him a free agent. Yet, adding Davis gives the A’s some options with the remaining three players: Moss, Jaso, and to a lesser extent, Blanks. Slusser also reports, that according to her sources, the Blue Jays have inquired about Jaso to be the backup to their new catcher, Russell Martin. The A’s are also reportedly asking the Jays about 24-year old lefty, Sean Nolin.

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On Twitter, our staff writer Jennifer Trump has been “calling” a Jaso trade for weeks. The logistics make sense. Jaso’s catching time may be limited, and there is no spot for him at first or DH now, so Jaso would appear to be the odd-man out, especially with just one year left on his contract.

Slusser also stated that the A’s could explore deals for any of their left-handed bats that play first, or in the outfield. This adds Josh Reddick into the trade bait mix. I have a feeling Reddick won’t be going anywhere, unless the offer is over-the-top. Minus Reddick, the A’s would have Coco Crisp, Sam Fuld and Craig Gentry as their main three options, none of which have power, and Coco is an injury risk. Reddick is a relatively cheap option that has some power potential and plays solid defense.

Trading Moss makes sense because the return would be decent, and there is some concern over his repaired hip, but he can play both in the outfield and at first, which also makes him valuable to the team. The A’s also have Blanks, who plays the same positions as Moss, so if they were impressed with him in his 45 at-bats in Oakland last season, then Moss could very well be on the move. On the other side of that coin, Blanks is a free agent after next season, while Moss is under contract through 2016. The price tag on Moss will likely increase a decent amount in that time however, which, again, makes him a trade candidate.

It took a few weeks, but it seems as though the hot stove in Oakland is about to be set to broil. Wait, that’s not how stoves work. You get the idea.