Oakland Athletics Trade Deadline Overview

Danny Valencia, Third Baseman

The Oakland Athletics acquired third baseman Danny Valencia on August 3, 2015, when he was claimed off of waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays. Valencia came to an Oakland offense that lacked pop, and brought some. Valencia is a strong right handed hitter, who is a prototypical third baseman from an offensive perspective. He swings hard, and when he connects, the ball can go a long way. Valencia has been on a tear lately. Over his past 22 games entering Friday, Valencia is hitting .378 (31-for-82).

Valencia is hitting .346/.380/.579 on the season, and really solidified the third base position for the Athletics, which had been somewhat in limbo last season after the Josh Donaldson trade. Valencia is under the Athletics control until 2018, and may not necessarily be a player the A’s are looking to move, but if they do, Oakland has options.

The Athletics’ No. 4 prospect, according to MLB.com, is third baseman Matt Chapman.  Chapman is playing in Double-A Midland as of this writing, but he certainly impressed the Athletics in Spring Training, when he hit .279, with 5 home runs while in Major League camp. Chapman isn’t considered to be Major League ready just yet, but he’s viewed as the third baseman of the future in Oakland. As for Valencia, injuries around baseball could cause some teams to look at the trade market. The Kansas City Royals are without third baseman Mike Moustakas, (torn ACL) and New York Mets third baseman David Wright is battling a neck injury. Teams with a need due to injury could look to the trade market, and Valencia may be worth trading for the right offer. Interestingly, the Athletics made trades with both the Royals — who acquired Ben Zobrist — and the Mets — who acquired Tyler Clippard — last season.

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