A's Making Big Move, Calling Up Denzel Clarke

The Athletics are in the midst of a nine-game losing streak and need to make a change. According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, at least one of the moves they're going with is calling up No. 5 prospect Denzel Clarke.

Clarke, selected by the A's in the fourth round of the 2021 MLB Draft, is 25 years old and the cousin of Bo Naylor, Josh Naylor, and A's minor leaguer Myles Maylor. Clarke has received his first taste of Triple-A this season, getting into 31 games, and is batting .286 with a .436 OBP, earning nearly as many walks (23) as strikeouts (29).

He has yet to hit a home run this season, despite playing in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, but power isn't a huge part of his game. He's topped out at 15 in his career, back in 2022, and has slugged 12 and 13 each of the past two seasons.

Athletics on SI mentioned recently that the A's would have to upgrade their roster to get where they are hoping to go, and with the pitching market looking thin at the moment, making upgrades at certain positions on defense could be the way the end up going. Center field is one of those positions where they could use an upgrade.

Speed was another option we posed, and Clarke is both an upgrade on defense, and grades out as a 60 runner on the 20-80 scout scale.

JJ Bleday, who seemed to have cemented himself as a core piece of the A's roster last season, has struggled this year. At the plate he's hitting .204 with a .291 OBP and six home runs while holding an 87 wRC+ (100 is league average).

Over his last seven games, Bleday is just 2-for-23 (.087) with a .125 on-base.

Defensively, Bleday has been one of the worst with a glove in the sport, according to Outs Above Average on Baseball Savant. His -5 OAA ranks him in the second percentile at any position, and of the 78 players with at least ten attempts in center this season, he ranks No. 78. With the A's scuffling, they need to make some changes and upgrade where they can before the season gets away from them.

Denzel Clarke certainly has the athleticism to be a sizable upgrade on defense, though he's a right-handed swinger, while Bleday is a lefty. There has been no announcement from the club about the roster move, and it's possible that Bleday sticks around but as a platoon bat to split time with Clarke, and be used off the bench in better situations for himself.

If that is the case, the A's other left-handed option that can glove up in center is veteran Seth Brown. The A's have a couple of paths to choose from with this news.