Oakland Athletics’ Offseason Targets: Five Potential Options for Second Base

Aug 23, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Grady Sizemore (24) steals second base ahead of the throw to Oakland Athletics infielder Eric Sogard (28) in the third inning at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

In the upcoming weeks, I will be looking at the areas of improvement the Oakland Athletics need to address during the off-season. In order to put themselves in a better position to contend next year, there are some glaring holes within their lineup as well as defense that could be filled without emptying their wallets – because we all know they wouldn’t do that anyways.

First up: Second Base.

The A’s this season have seen a sub par amount of production come from this position throughout the entirety of the 2015 campaign. The combination of Ben Zobrist (125 at-bats and now gone), Brett Lawrie (108 at-bats), and primarily Eric Sogard (292 at-bats) has hit .248, third lowest of the nine spots in the field. The combined on-base percentage is also third lowest at .317 and the OPS is second lowest at .641. To put that in perspective, the league average for second basemen’s OBP is .310 and OPS – which may be the most concerning – is .705.

While the addition of Danny Valencia has allowed Lawrie to move to second and cover up some of the offensive woes of Sogard, Oakland definitely needs to make an upgrade this winter in hopes of gaining a little more power. Even when Zobrist played there, he was only able to produce two home runs and 13 runs batted in, over his 34 game played. As of right now – a part from last nights 17 runs outburst – the second base position has essentially been three outs per night, with a possible flared single into left-center or maybe an occasional double down the right-field line.

The market for second basemen is a pretty large one, but there are five options I would like to see the A’s take a look at who would be able to fit into the offensive AND defensive strategy of manager Bob Melvin.

Next: The First of Five