How Do Oakland A's New Additions Fit on Roster?

The Oakland A's have made some additions already this winter. Nothing splashy, but some names that baseball fans might recognize like Abraham Toro and Miguel Andújar. They also added Osvaldo Bido yesterday, signing him to a big-league deal. 

With the A's young group of players all around the diamond, where do these new acquisitions fit? Let's take a look.

Bido may be the easiest one to find a spot for. Even though he signed a big-league deal for the 2024 season, he still has two options remaining, meaning that he can be sent to the minor leagues at any point over the course of the season. The same is true of Adrián Martínez, who spent parts of the season serving as the long-man in the A's bullpen. 

At first glance, it would appear that only one of those two will be on the roster in Oakland at any given time since that they can both put up starter innings, or work multiple frames out of the bullpen. 

That said, one wrinkle that could impact both players could be how the A's plan to utilize Mason Miller in 2024. Obviously it would be great to have him work out of the starting rotation, but he also hasn't been able to stay healthy and there is a question of just how much of a workload he can handle over the course of a season. It's a very similar predicament that the A's had with A.J. Puk a couple of seasons ago. 

There is a decent chance that Miller starts the season in the bullpen, potentially working his way to being the team's closer, in an attempt to get him through an entire season and also rack up some innings. 

If that's the case, then there will be an open spot in the rotation that Martínez or Bido could be in line for, too. Right now, it would appear as though Bido would be ahead of Martínez on the depth chart. 

Neither Toro nor Andújar spent much time in the Majors last season. Instead, they spent much of their seasons racking up stats in the minors. Toro hit .291 with a .374 OBP in 96 games in Triple-A, and Andújar hit .338 with a .404 OBP in 103 contests. Both have experience at the big-league level but didn't receive much of an opportunity in 2023. 

With the addition of the switch-hitting Toro, the A's may have their third baseman to begin the season. His signing led to the team non-tendering Kevin Smith, and he'd been splitting time between third base and shortstop. Toro's other position is second base, but Zack Gelof did a pretty good job of cementing himself there in his rookie campaign, so it would appear that third base is Toro's. 

Unlike Bido, Toro is out of options, which means that he will have to stay on the A's 26-man roster throughout the course of the season, or be subject to the waiver wire. 

Jordan Díaz would be his biggest competition at third to begin the season, but he struggled with the bat last year, finishing with a .221 batting average and a .273 OBP. He also swatted ten home runs in 293 plate appearances, which was a nice bonus, but he finished the season with a 78 wRC+, 22% below league average. 

Díaz also graded poorly defensively on Baseball Savant, finishing with -5 Outs Above Average at third base and -9 overall. Toro's biggest competition could be the arrival of Brett Harris at some point during the summer of 2024, which will give the A's plenty of time to get a good read on Toro. 

As for Andújar, he split time between left field, right field, and first base in the minors in 2023 with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The A's have Ryan Noda fairly solidified at first entering his second season in the bigs, but Andújar could be used to give Noda a day off here and there, too. 

As far as outfield options entering the season, Oakland has quite a few. First off, there's Esteury Ruiz, who started tapping into his power down the stretch and also stole 67 bases in 2023. Then there is JJ Bleday, whom the A's acquired in the A.J. Puk deal before the season. He showed flashes over the course of the season, and he doesn't have much left to prove in Triple-A. 

From there it could get a little tricky. The A's brought up Lawrence Butler in the second half of the season, and while he dazzled fans and hit some monster home runs, he wasn't quite as patient at the plate in Oakland as he was in the minors and finished with a 60 wRC+ in 129 plate appearances. The A's could have him start the season in the minors for some extra refinement, but if he's in Oakland, he needs to be playing regularly. 

Then there is the veteran, Seth Brown, whose numbers took a little bit of a dip in 2023 and saw him finish as a below league average hitter for the first time in his career. Brown was already in a tough spot with Ruiz, Bleday, and Butler, but adding Andújar to the mix really complicates things.

And that doesn't even mention Brent Rooker, the team's lone All Star who also hit 30 home runs in 2023. Rooker could serve as the team's DH, or get some time in the outfield. 

The way this could shake out, at least initially, is with Ruiz in center, Bleday in right, Andújar in left, Butler in Las Vegas, Brown on the bench, and Rooker at DH. Andújar did hit left-handers a little better than righties, so him and Brown could split time in left field if both make the Opening Day roster. That isn't to say that Anjújar was necessarily bad against righties, however. He still finished with an 88 wRC+ against them, but Brown had a 103 in 2023 and has a career 116. 

The A's have made some interesting moves as they tinker with the roster. There is still a lot of off-season left to go, so make sure to bookmark Inside the A's so you don't miss any news on relocation, signings, or trades!