Oakland Athletics
2B, Cesar Hernandez
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Bullpen help and someone to man second base are two areas of concern for Oakland going into 2020. I like Liam Hendriks and Yusmeiro Petit as well as Blake Treinen in the A’s bullpen much better than I do its current situation at the keystone.
Apparently the Oakland Athletics were ready to move on from Jurickson Profar, as they traded him to the Padres earlier this month, leaving Franklin Barreto and Jorge Matao as a couple of decent options for the team to choose from (also Sheldon Neuse, who played third for the A’s in a cup of coffee).
I like Cesar Hernandez better. The 29-year-old and now-free agent has played his entire career with the Phillies, and in the last four seasons has averaged 2.7 WAR at second base, while also playing strong defense (averaged 2.1 UZR in that span).
The second base market has been basically nonexistent so far this offseason, but Hernandez carries some pop, can steal bases and hits for a high average. I’m surprised he’s still unemployed.
Predicted contract: 2 years, $10 million