A’s Rumors: Manny Ramirez, Magglio Ordonez and Kila Ka’aihue
By Editorial Staff
The Oakland A’s have been extremely active this offseason, and the club might not be finished yet. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that the A’s are eyeing several free agent hitters such as Manny Ramirez, Magglio Ordonez, Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon. Slusser also offered reports on an in-house slugger, Kila Ka’aihue, who reportedly intrigues A’s brass.
The A’s have been one of the few clubs tied to veteran slugger Manny Ramirez this offseason. While their level of interest has been unknown, Slusser reported yesterday that Oakland has more interest in Ramirez than they do in fellow free agent Magglio Ordonez. Neither player appears to be a highly sought-after commodity as witnessed by the general lack of interest expressed by major league clubs.
Beyond Ramirez and Ordonez, Slusser said the A’s retain some interest in bringing back Hideki Matsui. Still, Slusser considered Matsui, who only managed an OPS of .696 with the A’s last season, a “real long shot” to re-sign in Oakland.
The A’s have also kicked the tires on Johnny Damon, though Slusser hears the free agent may be out of Oakland’s price range.
While the A’s continue to be on the lookout for a bargain buy this spring, the club is also apparently intrigued by one of its in-house options at DH, Kila Ka’aihue. The 27-year-old was traded to the A’s last September after posting an OPS of 1.060 over his 416 plate appearances with the Royals Triple-A affiliate.
While this mark is no doubt impressive, Ka’aihue’s numbers in the minors have yet to translate into success at the big league level. Though he’s set to turn 28 in March, Ka’aihue has only compiled 326 plate appearances in the majors. Over that span, Ka’aihue has maintained an uninspiring line of .216/.309/.375.
Slusser said the A’s are hoping Ka’aihue can finally put it together in 2012 and may give him regular at bats as the club’s DH to see if he can do so.
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