Free Agency: Will the A’s Spend $$ This Year?

November 13th, 2009 | by jrussell |

We all remember what happened last year: The A’s traded for Matt Holliday, signed Jason Giambi and Nomar Garciaparra. Their offense was supposed to be explosive. These guys were the new heart of the batting order. As it turns out, the trade for Adam Kennedy and inserting Rajai Davis ended up being more productive.

So did Billy Beane learn his lesson? He gave away some really talented young players in Carlos Gonzales and Huston Street. He signed aging veterans that were all the way aged. By the sound of it, Beane is ready to fully embrace the youth movement once again.

But there are some things that are still undecided. Will the A’s try to re-sign Duscherer? Who will start the season at third base? Who will play first base? Are they going to go with their all young rotation? Will they try to sign any hitters in free agency?

So far the only name I am hearing so far is first baseman Nick Johnson. Johnson has played for Washington, the Yankees, Montreal, and most recently Florida. He looks like he should be a big hitter but his best offensive year came in 2006 for Washington where he batted .290 with 23 HR and 77 RBI. Last year combined with Washington and Florida he hit .291 with 8HR and 62RBI. Perhaps better numbers than what Daric Barton would do in a full season but I’ve got to believe there are more proficient hitters out there at first base.

I would almost rather see a farm system guy like Chris Carter get a shot than Nick Johnson. I guess we’ll see what Beane decides but I’m hoping if we make any free agent signings that they be a bit more appealing.

Rating: 6.0/10 (1 vote cast)

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