September 18, 2012; Bronx, NY, USA; Toronto Blue Jays infielder Yunel Escobar (5) during a press conference addressing offensive comments written on his eye black before a game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

A big part of what propelled this team to its 2012 AL West Championship was the incredible chemistry that had formed within the team, they really fed off one another and it showed.  The Athletics were rumored at one point to be in hot pursuit of Hanley Ramirez, who was with the Miami Marlins at that point still, and many fans were wary of bringing him in for the same reasons as Escobar.  The difference was talent, Hanley had more of it so many were willing to accept his own question marks regarding his character in exchange for the infusion of offense his presence could’ve brought.

The problem here was, Yunel Escobar is no Hanley Ramirez.

Escobar’s ceiling is somewhat limited, he can deliver some occasional pop, reach base at a decent clip, and play his position well enough.  But that is simply not enough to risk disturbing the chemistry the Athletics have.

Perhaps the fact that two of the 2012 season’s primary veteran presences, Brandon Inge and Jonny Gomes are no longer with the club.  Gomes is in Boston now with his fancy $10 million contract, and Inge is still recovering from his shoulder injury and is looking for his next job in the bigs.  That leaves Coco Crisp as the major veteran holdover from 2012, and he simply is not the type of personality to exhibit the kind of leadership that Gomes and Inge do.  That’s not to say Coco can’t be a leader, and he is an integral part of this team, but his leadership is more in the emotional vein, not policing the clubhouse.

Escobar’s presence with the Athletics could have thrown off the balance of the team, and who knows what kind of effect that could have had on the success of the 2013 Athletics.

So whether you were all for the acquisition of Yunel Escobar, either because you think so highly of his ability, or becase you don’t think he would be a negative influence on the Athletics, the point is moot now.  Tampa Bay has to deal with the potential consequences of having Yunel Escobar now, he’s their problem.

I’ll leave you with this final thought, when the Atlanta Braves traded Escobar to the Toronto Blue Jays straight up for an older, pending free agent shortstop in Alex Gonzalez, there had to be more reasons than his play on the field.  Gonzalez was not going to make the Braves better on the field.  The Braves and their fans were surely happy to see him go, the Blue Jays fans felt the same after last month when he was shipped to Miami, and now the Marlins fans are happy to be rid of him and he never even took the field for them.  There are better options out there for the Athletics, and now that Escobar is off the table we can all breathe a sigh of relief.

Dec 5, 2011; Dallas, TX, USA; Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane on the MLB network set during the MLB winter meetings at Hilton Anatole. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Both General Manager Billy Beane and Manager Bob Melvin held press conferences this afternoon, and addressed the various needs the Athletics are looking into this offseason.  The most glaring of which is at the shortstop position.  We’ve spent a large chunk of time so far this offseason discussing the various options on the free agent and trade markets, but it’s been a while since we’ve had any kind of concrete news on that front.

Susan Slusser was on the beat and reported on what Beane had to say.  One small source of comfort during the uneasiness of the inactivity was Beane’s remarks that Stephen Drew and Hiroyuki Nakajima were the only free agent shortstops the team was looking into.  When the words “bottom feeders” were said to describe the A’s pursuit of their next starting shortstop a collective groan was let out by the A’s fanbase, so the fact that they’re concentrating on these two players is refreshing to hear.  Whether or not the Athletics are going to be willing to meet the demands of either of these players is an entirely different story though, and considering the fact that Drew is represented by the evil Scott Boras, negotiations can certainly get dangerous.

Beane also noted that there were a number of options the A’s could pursue through trades, and one name that came up during the day that may make a few hearts skip a beat (and not in a good way) was Yunel Escobar of the Miami Marlins.  Escobar of course was the subject of many trade rumors last season while he was with the Toronto Blue Jays.  He was part of the massive trade between the Jays and the Marlins last month.  Escobar is a talented player, there’s no doubt about it, but his character is such a question mark that I would have major misgivings about adding him into this A’s clubhouse.  Escobar’s work ethic has been called into question at times, much like Hanley Ramirez did with the Marlins, and he was suspended last season for having a homophobic slur written in Spanish on his eye black.  One would assume that the price tag to acquire Escobar wouldn’t be very steep at this point, so that fact may be what is most appealing to the A’s brass.

As the night wore on, MLB.com’s Jane Lee reported that Billy Beane had met with the Marlins, but it wasn’t totally clear whether or not Escobar was the subject of that meeting.  I’d much prefer to find out that meeting was regarding Giancarlo Stanton.  I can still dream.

The more I look at it, the more I think Nakajima might be the best of their options.  He’s unproven, sure.  But his potential upside could really solidify this team and help propel them to that next level.

As day 2 begins, we’ll be keeping our fingers on the pulse of the Winter Meetings.  Something may be brewing, let’s hope Billy Beane is about to work his magic yet again.

One is the A’s recently drafted a shortstop (though they may move him to third base) in Addison Russell. While he is still a few years away from possibly making it to the big leagues it may not make too much sense to invest in a young shortstop that may cost extra because of their age. The opposite hand to that is sometimes prospects never match up to their expectations. That is a balancing act that Beane will have to deal with.

The second is the A’s have internal options at all of their positions except shortstop. Therefore it would seem Beane’s main concern this week will be to find a shortstop. There aren’t many free agent shortstops on the market this offseason (Stephen Drew seems to be the only potential fit) therefore the most likely scenario to fill the need at the six position is via trade.

There are multiple teams with shortstops that could be available for the right price. The first team I will be looking at is the Miami Marlins. The Marlins have already made their big splash (no pun intended) in a blockbuster trade with the Toronto Blue Jays. They acquired shortstop Yunel Escobar as well as top shortstop prospect Adeiny Hechavarria. With Hechavarria being ready for the major leagues, Escobar has become expendable for the Marlins.

The Marlins are in the process of a rebuild albeit a quick one to hopefully regain their fan base (again which they seem to have lost after trading away almost their entire roster). They are looking for affordable young pitching to build around. This is where the A’s and Marlins meet as natural trade partners.

The A’s have potential trade chips within the realm of starting pitching in Dan Straily, A.J. Griffin, Tommy Milone, Brad Peacock, and Michael Ynoa. Peacock and Ynoa would be risky considering their 2011 seasons respectively (Peacock was inconsistent and Ynoa was injured for most of the season). Straily is another long shot because he just came into his own this past season after developing his changeup. That leaves Griffin and Milone as likeliest to be traded.

Determining Escobar’s value will be interesting regardless of where he ends up. His production is above average which at a position that is as bare as shortstop player wise means his price raises exponentially. However, Escobar has had multiples issues regarding his attitude and work ethic. It was widely reported that he was a “cancer” in the Blue Jays clubhouse and he was suspended and fined for having a gay slur on his eye black during a game toward the end of last season. The flip side to that is the A’s clubhouse is strongly united and may be able to change his ways. We’ll just have to wait and see.

**UPDATE** MLB.com’s Jane Lee reported that Billy Beane and the Marlins have been in discussions for Escobar.