MLB: The most valuable center fielders of 2019
By Bill Felber
MLB: The most valuable center fielders of 2019
4. Mark Canha, Oakland Athletics, $8.533 million value; $2.05 million salary
Like Kingery with the Phillies, Canha is more a utility player than a centerfielder. His value is set among centerfielders because he played 56 games there in 2019, more than at any other position. But Canha also started in right field, at first base, and at designated hitter.
There’s not much question entering 2020 that Laureano is the A’s center fielder and that Canha’s role will be as a fill-in. The Oakland depth chart lists him as a backup at first, all three outfield positions and DH.
Canha may not have a position, but he does have a bat. He hit .273 with a major .396 on-base average and .517 slugging average that adding up to a 145 OPS+. That added up to a 4.5 WAR, the position’s fourth-best. Based on his offense alone, that added up to a $5.984 million value.
Perhaps aided by the fact that he didn’t spend much time there, Canha’s defensive data in center were both solid. He ranked ninth in fielding average at .993, and third in range at 2.93 chances per nine innings. The drawback, obviously, was time on the field. Canha played 874 innings, a total that ranked only 21st at the position and amounted to just $477,000.
Canha is a second-year arbitration case this winter, which puts him on the precipice of a precarious position. His offense is strong enough that he is clearly capable of helping the Athletics, but the absence of any place to actually play him compromises that value.