In perusing around the teams that are seemingly out of contention already, I stumbled on Conor Jackson as potentially being a low-cost platoon option in a trade.
The A's are one of those teams that I really don't follow a whole lot. I think they're phenomenonally boring as a franchise. I see them mired 10 games under .500 and in last place, but don't really think much of it.
So when I went to check out the A's today on Baseball-Reference, I was stunned by how putrid their offense is.
They have since traded Mark Ellis and installed Jemile Weeks, but when you look at their starters there is not a single one above 100 in OPS+.
I went on to Athletics Nation and they are talking about building around Weeks, Scott Sizemore (trade acquisition from DET who washed out there), and Chris Carter on the offensive side of things. Yikes.
They also lament how all three of their OF's are free agents at the end of the year. Now, they do have Michael Taylor in AAA, but he's a corner OF only. So I'm thinking that maybe they would go for a Gorkys Hernandez-Conor Jackson swap straight up.
About Conor Jackson:
He was a hot prospect back in 2005-06, so Neal Huntington immediately likes that.
Somehow, after all his struggles with Valley Fever, he procured a contract for 1 yr $3.3M this year, so he will be owed $1.1M from 7/31 onwards.
He's a RH, so his splits against LH's are:
.316/.402/.395 (797 OPS) with more BB than K's. He's not good at all against same-siders.
He came up as a 1B, but he's been playing the OF too in recent years, so he can help in 2 spots against southpaws.
Conor Jackson is not made of pure unicorn horn, but he could be a low-cost acquistion that may do well back in the NL. Wouldn't be my first choice of a trade target, but there may be something there. Essentially Conor Jackson would give you what Steve Pearce would, but how can you count on Steve Pearce for anything at this point?
Gorkys Hernandez is reputed to be the best defensive CF in the minors, but even with his surge this year in his numbers, I still see him struggling to maintain a 700 OPS in the majors. With McCutchen, Tabata, Marte, and possibly Presley in the mix, it's hard to see where Hernandez would fit in with the Pirates. He may be more valuable as a trade chip than as a prospect.
Not to be disagreeable, but....Connor Jackson....well....sorta blows.
ReplyDeleteHe's basically Steven Pearce, as you mentioned. They can get Pearce for free if they just wait. How can they depend on him for anything at this point? They can't. They can't depend on Jackson doing dick either, cuz, well....he sorta blows. :)
I have no particular love for Gorkys Hernandez, but I'd rather they packaged him with an arm to try and get someone who isn't just a right-handed side of a platoon. Acquire Jackson? Sure, do it. I doubt it would need to take a guy like Hernandez though.
I guess I just really don't like Gorkys. I don't see him as being able to keep a 700 OPS in the majors. Just see him as a 5th OF. He could start for the A's, though, for a year or two.
ReplyDeleteIt clears up a 40 man spot for us, too. In reality, you're right that less than Gorkys gets it done, but the A's don't need arms. They want bats and I don't know what other AAA/AA bat would intrigue them for Jackson's skill level.
Latimore?
Who would you have to kick around if they traded Latimore?
ReplyDeleteIt would be tough, but I'd find someone. I'm not wild about Rojas, Jr!
ReplyDelete