Projecting A's Miguel Andújar for 2024

The Oakland A's added Miguel Andjújar off waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates back in early November, and he has since gone on to have a pretty impressive Dominican Winter League showing. In 31 games he hit .306 with a .344 OBP, two homers and 19 rbi in 131 plate appearances. In addition to that stat line, he also walked seven times and struck out just nine times. That's a 7% strikeout rate. 

Granted, those stats are from the Winter League, but they also showcase some of the growth that Andújar has shown as a hitter since leaving the Yankees.

Back in 2018 he had a tremendous rookie campaign with New York, playing as the team's everyday third baseman while batting .297 with a .328 OBP and a 130 OPS+. He also hit 27 homers and finished second in the AL Rookie of the Year voting. 

In the years since, he has played in a total of 144 games in the big leagues, hit .234 with a .265 OBP and 12 homers, posting a 69 OPS+. Now 29 and likely a corner outfielder, Andújar is looking to prove that he can still play in the Majors, and the A's may be his last shot. 

One big obstacle for Andújar became his defense at third base, but it seems as though he has been a decent defender in the outfield, playing at exactly league average in limited attempts. As we've said a few times this off-season, it appears as though the plan is to have Andújar and Seth Brown act as platoon partners in either left or right to begin the season. The 29-year-old is out of options, so he either makes the team or is subjected to waivers. 

So what does FanGraphs think of the A's new slugger heading into 2024? 

Well, defensively they have him coming in right around the same as he was in 2020. In looking over at Baseball Savant, that was a -4 Outs Above Average season overall, but it was also in 21 games. In 2024, that defense will be spread out a little more. 

Offensively they have him playing in 65 games (which is important for the counting stats) and batting .267 with a .322 OBP and a 107 wRC+. They also have him hitting eight home runs in 280 at-bats. Honestly, if that's the type of player he is this season, then he may be seeing a bit more playing time. 

You're talking about a roughly 20 homer bat over a full season added to the team that scored the fewest runs in baseball last year by a wide margin and only had two 20+ home run hitters in Brent Rooker and Shea Langeliers. A third wouldn't be a bad idea, and while there are other guys with 20 homer pop like Ryan Noda and Zack Gelof, the A's could use as many boppers as they can get right now.

Since he's likely to be a platoon bat, let's take a look at his splits from his time with the Pirates last season. Against left-handers (the side of the platoon he'd have with the A's) he hit .278 with a .316 OBP and two homers in 38 plate appearances. That was good for a 129 wRC+, or 29% better than league average. Against right-handers that dipped to 88. 

The one thing that could stand in his way to regular playing time (besides the platoon) is that the A's are currently searching for long-term pieces to build around after back-to-back 100+ loss seasons. Right now it looks like it'll be Esteury Ruiz in center and JJ Bleday in the non-Brown/Andújar corner. Yet, the A's are still high on Lawrence Butler, who will need playing time when he is on the roster, and Denzel Clarke is another promising outfielder that could get a look in 2024. 

If Andújar wants to get consistent playing time, he's going to have to earn it on both sides of the ball.