Kuzul

The Oakland Athletics have had an interesting offseason to say the least—one extremely difficult to grade.

If you look at it from the perspective that the A’s were contenders and are retooling to remain as contenders in 2015, then the grade is an F. They downgraded at third base, traded their starting first baseman and one of their top starting pitchers and did not sign a proven shortstop.

If they couldn’t get it done with Josh Donaldson, Brandon Moss, Jeff Samardzija and Jon Lester (not to mention Yoenis Cespedes before him), then they’re not going to get it done with Brett Lawrie, Ike Davis, Jarrod Parker, A.J. Griffin and Craig Gentry.

Grading this offseason based on the long-term effects is a crapshoot.

Prospect experts and analysts can certainly try, but the truth is, there are too many variables—too many things can happen that throw projections off.

For instance, take the Moss for Joe Wendle trade.

Moss could go downhill rapidly, in talent or in health, while Wendle overachieves and becomes the next Mark Ellis. That’d be an A+ trade for the A’s. Or Wendle could be a bust, while Moss consistently hits 25 home runs and drives in 75 runs for the next three seasons.

There’s no way to tell. You can only guess.

That said, let’s grade this offseason based on general manager Billy Beane‘s notion that the team is retooling.

First, let’s define “retooling.”

Rebuilding is a process that takes a minimum of three years, typically, and can last a decade (looking at you, Houston). Rebuilding is a commitment to a massive overhaul—a fire sale or two—to stockpile hoards of prospects.

The A’s aren’t doing that.

Though Beane himself has never clarified his exact definition of retooling, one can guess it simply means the A’s will sit 2015 out, nab a handful of nearly ready prospects without carrying out a complete fire sale and try to pull off a shocker (like 2012) again in 2016.

We’re throwing out the high (years and years away) and the low (2015) and grading this offseason based on its effects on the 2016 and ’17 seasons.

Now, let’s grade each move individually, then come up with a cumulative grade with “retooling” for 2016-17 in mind.

Signing Billy Butler

Beane acted swiftly and signed free-agent power hitter Billy Butler. The move would have provided a solid cleanup hitter and full-time DH who can feast on left-handed hitting—something the A’s lacked in 2014—to hit behind Moss and Donaldson.

Butler, hypothetically, could make up for some of the power lost when Oakland traded Cespedes to the Boston Red Sox.

In the short term, this would have been a solid move.

However, after trading Donaldson and Moss away, signing Butler is a bit of a head-scratcher for 2015.

Still, there are two ways to view this signing in a positive light.

First, Butler is signed to three years, so he could very well be around still in 2016-17. When the A’s are ready to compete again, Butler remains at DH and is hopefully still hitting for power. At the least, he’s providing veteran leadership and teaching the younger guys what he knows about the game, pitchers’ tendencies and hitting tips.

Or, he’s traded halfway through 2015 and nets one more fringe player who can contribute in ’16 or ’17.

Either way, there’s value there, it’s just in the long term, not in the short term.

Grade: B

Trading Josh Donaldson

After completing the Butler signing, Beane simply needed to find a shortstop, decide who will play left field and potentially upgrade second base.

Instead he shocked the Oakland contingent by trading away the team’s best player, Josh Donaldson. In the extremely short term, it makes no sense trading your superstar if you intend to compete.

That said, the trade wasn’t all that awful.

Oakland had an A+ third baseman and a below-average farm system. Now it has a B+ third baseman and a slightly above-average farm system (before the other trades occurred). The A’s upgraded their prospects while avoiding a huge hit on the major league level.

In 2015, it will hurt not having Donaldson.

But Lawrie is no slouch. He’ll be 25 to start 2015, is locked up until 2018 and will be much cheaper than Donaldson. Meanwhile, the A’s also get a top-tier shortstop prospect and two pitchers who could contribute in Oakland in 2015.

Might these pitchers be the next Jarrod Parker and Tommy Milone, two guys who arrived in Oakland as possibilities to contribute and ultimately earned starting spots immediately?

Grade: B+

Trading Brandon Moss

Beane‘s next move is easily the worst of the offseason.

On Dec. 8, Beane traded Brandon Moss to the Cleveland Indians for Joe Wendle—a Double-A prospect.

One guy. A fringe prospect.

The Miami Marlins were rumored to be interested in Moss. They eventually gave their No. 1 prospect to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Dee Gordon, which makes it even more confusing that Oakland shed Moss for so little.

Scouts are mixed on Wendle, though.

Jake Seiner of MiLB.com wrote, “MLB.com’s Pipeline touts Wendle‘s hitting ability as his ‘lone standout tool.'”

Hitting is undoubtedly important, but of five tools, only the one seems to stand out, and that’s a concern. So if Wendle fails at that, he fails period. Also going against him, Wendle is 24 and has never played above Double-A.

Let’s hope Wendle absolutely crushes pitching at all levels. That, or he betters his other tools.

Clearly, this move was solely about shedding the $7.1 million arbitration case Moss was expected to win.

Grade: D+

Trading Jeff Samardzija

Next up, Beane traded starting pitchers Jeff Samardzija and Michael Ynoa to the Chicago White Sox for Marcus Semien and three other prospects.

Here’s Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle on analysis of each player coming to Oakland in 140 characters or less:

Grading this on the short term only, it’s not a good trade for 2015. The A’s needed a shortstop or an upgrade at second base. In a trade with the White Sox, one could only hope Oakland would net Alexei Ramirez (and in the long term, the hope was Tim Anderson).

It’s Semien instead.

He may or may not fill the shortstop hole. He may or may not be an upgrade over Andy Parrino and Eric Sogard. No one knows at this point, because he’s still essentially unproven.

But this is where the “in Billy we trust” mantra comes in.

Beane must have targeted Semien for a reason. He must see something in Semien that he doesn’t see in one of his incumbents. So if Semien starts and is efficient, all at 24 years old and for $500,000 and not arbitration-eligible until 2018, then this move will look genius.

And Beane got three other guys on top of that, all for a guy (Samardzija) who would have only been in Oakland one more season before leaving as a free agent anyway.

Grade: A-

Recap and Final Grade

Beane says the team will retool, and he signs Butler, trades Donaldson, trades Moss and trades Samardzija. In return, he gets Lawrie, Semien and a half-dozen prospects.

Beane traded the starting first baseman (an All-Star), the starting third baseman (an All-Star) and one of his starting pitchers (an All-Star). He filled his shortstop hole with an unproven player. He also never replaced the power-hitting left fielder he lost at the 2014 trade deadline.

For 2015, the grade is an F.

For 2016, the grade is a C+.

It’s a safe grade, for sure. It means the A’s didn’t blow it. But on the surface, they didn’t openly fleece teams, at least, not that we can see.

The grade could certainly go higher, though, as soon as 2017.

Once upon a time, the A’s traded star pitcher Rich Harden for a couple of prospects not many had heard of. One was a catcher who was not the feature piece and spent years in the minors, blocked by so many options ahead of him. That guy converted to third base out of desperation (on the team’s part).

That guy is Donaldson.

The C+ grade also assumes Beane is done making moves. The 2015 offseason isn’t over yet, though. If he’s retooling, then 2015 could just be Part I of a two-part series that includes next year’s offseason, too. Count on it.

None of the guys Beane acquired will make the 2015 team better than the 2014 team. But maybe—just maybe—the 2016 team will be even better than the 2012 team, if you know what I mean.

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The Oakland A’s could look a bit different in 2015, dependent on how the postseason plays out.

If the team doesn’t make the playoffs at all, general manager Billy Beane could put everyone in cleats on the trade block. If they win the World Series, Beane may feel that after capturing that elusive ring, one in Oakland is good enough and recommit to the farm system.

If, however, the team barely falls short of a World Series win, management could keep the roster intact. With Beane at the helm, you just never know.

Let’s be realistic and go somewhere in the middle.

The A’s make the playoffs and win the one-game, sudden-death Wild Card Game to move on. Then, unfortunately, they lose in either the ALDS or ALCS—which round they exit doesn’t matter in this scenario.

Again, it’s hard to read Beane, but he’s shown in the past that he’s more inclined to accumulate prospects and keep the payroll down than he is to sign stars.

That said, you would see the same mix of cheap, young players, cheaply signed veteran free agents and a stud or two.

Based on that, here are the positions that could have new starters in 2015.

Left Field

Currently, Jonny Gomes and Sam Fuld split time in left field.

Gomes is a free agent at the end of the 2014 season. Once with Oakland, he left in free agency after the 2012 season in search of more playing time. If he left once because he doesn’t care for platooning, not much should stop him from doing so again.

This time, however, it might be mutual.

Gomes didn’t provide the spark and magic that he did during 2012. Another club will likely try to sign him to bring in positive clubhouse presence for a budding team at a price the A’s are reluctant to even attempt matching.

Fuld may stay on in Oakland, but if he does, it should be more as a fourth outfielder rather than a platoon starter.

Here’s how the outfield should play out: Coco Crisp and Josh Reddick stay in center and right field, respectively. Craig Gentry returns to full health and becomes the everyday starter in left field. Gentry will be arbitration eligible but won’t cost more than $3 million, and he played well enough that if the team is looking to move forward on the cheap, Gentry is more than serviceable.

That keeps Fuld as the fourth guy and the outfield as speedy, defensive specialists.

If the A’s do kick the tires on a few veteran players, guys like Chris Denorfia, Reed Johnson or Grady Sizemore would probably be the biggest names considered, assuming the team keeps that salary toward the lower end of the scale per the norm.

But if they just miss in playoffs and want to make a bigger splash, why not bring back Seth Smith or Josh Willingham?

Starting Pitcher

Jon Lester will be one of the biggest free-agent names available. I will set Oakland’s chances of re-signing Lester at less than 1 percent. He will command way too much money for the Athletics to compete.

And if there’s anyone on the current team the A’s could trade, it’s Jeff Samardzija.

He’s yet to turn 30, he’s talented and he’s still controllable for another full season before becoming a free agent. This is the same guy that landed the Chicago Cubs two top prospects from Oakland. You can guarantee someone will call about Samardzija this offseason. You can also bet Beane will listen and contemplate restocking the minor league system.

Jason Hammel will not be re-signed, or at least shouldn’t be, due to a poor performance.

So two, possibly three, starting pitchers will be gone.

That leaves Sonny Gray, Scott Kazmir, a returning Jarrod Parker and a returning A.J. Griffin. Multiple names could once again compete for the fifth spot, including Jesse Chavez.

At the minimum, you’ll see Parker and Griffin, new faces—sort of.

As for that final spot, if it’s not a guy like Chavez, there’s one of two options. First, the A’s typically always sign a veteran reclamation project. But they usually keep one at a time, and Kazmir is that guy currently. Names like Colby Lewis, Kevin Correia or Chris Capuano might work if an addition is made.

The alternative route is promoting someone from Triple-A. The best option is Arnold Leon. Leon went 10-8 with the Sacramento River Cats in 2014, with a 4.97 ERA. He struck out 128 and walked 51.

What About Second Base or Shortstop?

I don’t think second base or shortstop will change.

Jed Lowrie and the A’s still seem to be a good match. The team needs someone it can get on the cheap to continue as a stopgap until an up-and-coming prospect is ready. Lowrie has had a down year, making him much more affordable.

Teams will likely swoop in on Asdrubal Cabrera, Hanley Ramirez and J.J. Hardy first. Jimmy Rollins may even go off the market before Lowrie, pushing his stock down more.

Beane showed fans that second base clearly was not a priority this season. Instead, he concentrated on pitching at the trade deadline.

Nick Punto has an option, Alberto Callaspo is a free agent and the team still has Eric Sogard. Additionally, Oakland has Andy Parrino. Callaspo is the most expensive at around $4 million. All other options are extremely cheap. The A’s, typically, are also extremely cheap.

Second base clearly isn’t a need, so the team will probably hold onto the current options—much to the dismay of fans.

Final Thoughts

Beane may listen to phone calls about Crisp, Reddick and Brandon Moss, but I don’t see him moving any of them. The returns wouldn’t be worth too much due to various reasons (age or talent).

For giggles, let’s say Beane does sell off all of Oakland’s assets and goes back to disappointingly cheap ways again.

Nate Freiman takes over first base. Sogard stays at second. Parrino starts at shortstop. Callaspo plays third base full time. Gentry starts in center field. Fuld would probably still be the fourth outfielder, with Shane Peterson coming up from Triple-A to play in left field. Let’s say Reed Johnson (or another cheap-but-older free agent) is signed to play right field. Your starting rotation is Parker, Griffin, Leon, Chavez and a cheaply renewed Drew Pomeranz (arbitration eligible) or a super-cheap veteran.

The above scenario assumes Brandon Moss, Josh Donaldson, Sonny Gray, Kazmir, Crisp and Reddick are all traded. Lowrie is not re-signed either.

Again, this is worst-case scenario. I don’t see this happening either.

Ultimately, Samardzija is the most likely to be traded—no one else. Lowrie will be re-signed, and Lester, Hammel and Gomes will leave via free agency.

(You might have noticed I didn’t mention catchers at all. I think all three stay: Derek Norris as the starter, Stephen Vogt as the backup and John Jaso as the full-time designated hitter.)

For the most part, you should see just about the same team on the field in 2015.

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Generally speaking, the Oakland A’s are a very good baseball team—one of the best teams in baseball during the 2014 regular season. But if they want to legitimately compete for a World Series title, there are a few things they must shore up.

Don’t mistake that statement as doubt.

We’re more than one-third of the way through the season already, and the A’s have the best record in the American League. Statistically, they’re top-five in categories such as starting ERA, runs scored, home runs and RBI, to name a few.

However, just look at the fact that the Colorado Rockies are also in the top five of many of those categories too. Yet, they’re in third place in the NL West and own a losing record. The point is: Leading in the regular season doesn’t mean too much come the playoffs.

Oakland must be well-balanced in that it has no glaring weakness. Easier said than done, sure.

Here are a few things to consider when the trade deadline approaches that will help with key weaknesses.

1. What to do at 2nd Base?

If you’ve been paying attention, you’ve probably heard this and are tired of it already. But it’s being said often because it’s the biggest hole in the lineup.

Against right-handers, Nick Punto is hitting .255. Alberto Callaspo hits .250, and Eric Sogard hits .213. Against southpaws, though, Punto’s average is .254. Callaspo and Sogard hit .159 and .111, respectively.

That’s terrible.

The A’s should do one of two things. They either need to make Punto the full-time second baseman or need to platoon him more often and trade for a player who hits against lefties better.

Even if they make Punto the full-time guy, they still need to upgrade his backup. Callaspo does an OK job against the righties, but no one behind Punto can hit lefties at all.

2. Do They Need 1 More Safety Net for the Starting Rotation?

It’s been nice seeing Scott Kazmir thrive, Tommy Milone rebound and Jesse Chavez fill in nicely due to injuries. But with Jarrod Parker and A.J. Griffin done for the year, Jeff Francis not as effective as one had hoped and Dan Straily down in Triple-A, backup options are growing more slim.

What happens if there’s one more injury? What happens if Drew Pomeranz—or anyone else for that matter—begins to slip? There’s no one left really. Well, Josh Lindblom maybe. But is he a guy who can help carry Oakland deep into the postseason?

It would be smart to add one more insurance option.

That option should be a quality starter, too, one who can easily pitch third, fourth or fifth in the rotation. It shouldn’t be a seventh-option type of guy. The A’s have those already.

3. What is the Solution for Jim Johnson?

Every time the relief pitcher warms up, he gets booed. You won’t find too many players who really want to go out and give their best for a fanbase who doesn’t like them. So if the fans don’t care for him and assuming he doesn’t want to be here, then it’s best for everyone involved to trade him.

Manager Bob Melvin tried removing him from closing duties. Melvin has called on Johnson in a variety of situations. And each time, the results are mostly hit (for opposing batters) and not too much miss (unless we’re talking Johnson’s location).

Yes, the A’s will have to eat a chunk of salary.

But this is a sunken cost. They’re paying him no matter what, so the optimal strategy is the one that hurts the team less. If another team calls about Johnson, the answer should be a resounding “Yes!”

4. To Keep 3 Catchers or Not?

The A’s are in a good spot trade-chip-wise because they have three catchers. Conceivably, a contender who needs catching can make a one-for-one swap with Oakland to satisfy both teams’ needs.

But in this writer’s opinion, Oakland should keep all three.

Derek Norris serves as the mostly full-time catcher. Stephen Vogt is predominantly the backup. John Jaso can DH. If all three are hitting, it shouldn’t be out of the question to find all three time. Of all the A’s players with 145 at-bats or more, Norris and Jaso have the best and fifth-best batting averages, respectively. Vogt is hitting .323 in 10 games.

In the last two postseasons, the A’s have had a tough time against Detroit Tigers pitching. So it seems wise to keep this offense stacked in preparation for top-tier pitching once again.

If the A’s decide to trade a catcher, Jaso would net a bigger return, but in the eyes of the trade partner, it’s more likely its looking for a cheaper—but still effective—backup, and that would be Vogt.

5. Should They Go ‘All In” and Trade Addison Russell?

Fear not. This is not a rumor. This isn’t even speculation that has come from anywhere. It’s simply a pre-emptive plea to Oakland A’s management that no matter how tempting it may be to go all-in this year, not to fall for it and give up Addison Russell.

It’s happened too often.

A team gives up its No. 1 prospect for one month of a superstar. Then that superstar walks in the offseason for much more money.

The San Francisco Giants experienced this with Zach Wheeler and Carlos Beltran. The Atlanta Braves got the last half of 2007 and the first half of 2008 out of Mark Teixeira, but they had to give up Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Elvis Andrus, Matt Harrison and Neftali Feliz to do so. Oh, and don’t forget, the A’s lost Huston Street and Carlos Gonzalez in an exchange for 93 games out of Matt Holliday.

It’s not an issue now, at least not one that anyone is talking about. But if it comes up, the answer should be an easy “No! No! No!”

All statistics courtesy of MLB.com and are current as of June 16, 2014, at 8:30 p.m. PT.

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The Oakland Athletics are off to a hot start after one month of baseball. So, too, are some of their minor league prospects. But it might not be the guys you’d immediately expect to see.

MLB.com keeps an updated list of the top-100 prospects in the game, sortable by team. The “rank” you’ll see on the following slides comes from their list. Hence why you may be surprised to see that of the eight guys on this list, only four are listed in MLB‘s top 20 for Oakland.

Another surprise? No one from the Sacramento River Cats (Triple-A) made the list.

Here’s how guys made the list:

First, they had to be off to a hot start. Obviously. Second, the sample size has to be high. In looking at Single-A stats, you’ll see Craig Gentry has the highest batting average on the team. Except that Gentry played in one game—a rehab stint. Gentry brings up a third way to narrow down the list: age. A 28-year-old in Single-A can hardly be considered a prospect, so even if their production is tops, they weren’t listed.

Statistics were acquired via Baseball-reference.com.

Did I miss anyone? Let me know on Twitter.

Begin Slideshow

There has only been one week of baseball—games that count anyway—but so far, so good for many of the Oakland Athletics‘ top-10 minor league prospects.

As per the norm, MLB.com released their list of the top 100 prospects as well as the top 20 for each team. Here we’ll use this list to discuss the top 10 in the A’s system. Of course this includes the most familiar face, Addison Russell. The Billys (McKinney and Burns), four pitchers and three Single-A infielders round out the list.

Let’s see how each player is doing in this young season.

The list is in numerical, descending order and comes with one of three designations when it comes to stock: up, down or even.

Note: Dillon Overton is listed as the eighth-best prospect; however, he has yet to pitch in 2014. He is currently recovering from Tommy John surgery. He will be skipped.

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For Oakland A’s fans, the term “March Madness” reflects their team’s crazy spring training. One major player is out for the season and another isn’t hitting. But there is good news: A few guys you might not have expected to hit so well have been pleasant surprises.

Spring training is meant to answer a team’s questions.

Oakland’s did just that, but the answers weren’t exactly what anyone might’ve thought. The rotation looks completely different than many predicted, and injuries have altered Opening Day plans a tad too.

From surprises to disappointments to key injuries, the roster has been affected.

Surprises

Michael Taylor has been a bit of a surprise, though I wouldn’t say it’s 100 percent shocking to see him do well. Taylor has 16 hits in 21 games, including five doubles, one triple, three home runs, 10 RBI and a .320 average.

At this point, though, it would appear he is simply auditioning for a new home:

Billy Burns may have sneaked up on fans unfamiliar with his production in the Washington Nationals organization in 2013, and his fast feet. With a .291 average and nine stolen bases, fans are starting to pay attention:

Jesse Chavez and Stephen Vogt have been the last big surprises of the group. Their spring performances have been well documented after one week, and at the end of two weeks.

Lastly, prospects such as Addison Russell (.280) and Billy McKinney (.455) have impressed. Though they are top prospects after all, so that’s more of an expectation than a surprise.

Busts

No one expected to see Yoenis Cespedes at the bottom of the stat sheet. Yet, of all everyday players, he has the worst average at .140. And it’s not like he hasn’t had opportunities to work through it. His 43 at-bats are fourth most on the team.

Remember when Eric Sogard almost became the face of MLB?

A’s fans would like to see the competition’s runner-up hit better than .222 with three RBI. For being the face of the team, at least by fan vote, he’s been unrecognizable at the plate.

Looking at the starting rotation, it’s hard to pick out just one bust. The unit as a whole has not produced very well.

Would-be ace Jarrod Parker’s ERA eclipsed the 10.00 mark—10.61 to be exact. A.J. Griffin nearly matched that. Sonny Gray started OK, but finished with an ERA of 6.30. Dan Straily’s is near 5.00 (4.73), and sixth-option Tommy Milone got under 4.00, barely, at 3.86. Scott Kazmir didn’t allow any runs but only pitched in seven innings.

Injuries

You can’t judge the impact a spring training performance will have on the regular season. Cespedes could rebound in a huge way. Vogt may not continue hitting as well as he currently is when he goes against consistent, big league pitching.

Injuries, though, will definitely have an impact.

The most notable of course is Parker’s. Originally slated to be the Opening Day starter, Parker will now miss the entire 2014 season due to a second Tommy John surgery.

 He’s out, and Chavez is in. That’s not bad, right?

Add A.J. Griffin and Ryan Cook to the mix of hurt pitchers. According to the A’s injury report, Griffin is due back possibly in April. Cook, on the other hand, “feels awesome” (via Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle) after throwing to live batters on March 19. Parker and Griffin will certainly be missed. The A’s have enough quality depth in the pen to make it through a few days without Cook just fine, thankfully.

Lastly, Craig Gentry, the Athletics‘ fourth outfielder, has been cleared for baseball activities. If he isn’t ready by Opening Day, Sam Fuld is the likeliest candidate to fill his shoes until he’s ready.

What It All Means

The outfield will certainly be shaken up.

Coco Crisp, Josh Reddick and Cespedes are still the hands-down starters. If Gentry is healthy, he’s the final outfielder on the roster. If not him, then it’s Fuld. That means Taylor is gone and Burns reports to Sacramento. McKinney needs time even further down in the system.

That’s easy to handle; the rotation is of greater concern.

With Parker and Griffin out, the A’s now turn to a sixth and seventh options. Having that much depth is outstanding, but no one wants to lose their top guy, ever. Chavez had a nice spring, so hopefully he can carry it over. And Milone‘s production is fairly similar to Griffin’s, so there shouldn’t be much concern there.

But now there are more questions.

Can Gray pick up the slack? How effective will Kazmir be? Will Chavez’s spring carry over into the regular season? And who takes Chavez’s spot in the bullpen now? Heck, who takes Cook’s if he can’t make it?

One thing is for sure: The rotation envisioned in February is a whole lot different approaching April.

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Whether it’s Josh Reddick returning to form or Michael Taylor desperately trying to prove himself, the Oakland A’s are witnessing a variety of breakout performances that are making key decisions more difficult.

After one week of camp, four guys in particular were incredibly impressive. Now with more than two weeks worth of games under their stirrups, three of those four have continued to stay hot in Arizona while a handful of others have stirred things up.

What makes a breakout star? Well, one guy isn’t at all familiar to A’s fans. Three others are fighting for a job on the 25-man roster. Another once had a starting role, saw it vanish and now wants it back. And the other, well, he’s breaking out of a year-long slump, which was likely due to injury.

And heck, let’s rank ’em. Ranking is based purely on spring training performances. The best performance gets the No. 1 spot.

All statistics are courtesy of MLB.com.

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Begin Slideshow

The Oakland A’s have traveled to Arizona for another year of spring training camp. With returnees, new signings, freshly acquired players, prospects and a slew of non-roster invitees, it’s time to break down the A’s, position by position.

Most positions are all but locked up already but that doesn’t mean others are short on competition.

Spring training offers plenty of intrigues. Oakland has more than a few guys fighting for a roster spot. It also has a prospect or two looking to prove they’re worth the hype. There may even be a guy somewhere in camp that has the potential to pull off an upset of sorts, unseating a thought-to-be starter.

For this list, each slide will discuss a position, listing the players eligible and a short description of their likely outcome.

Begin Slideshow

Perhaps, the best thing about the Oakland A’s spring training from a fan’s perspective is watching to see who unexpectedly impresses.

In my spring training preview, I listed a few guys who could be the next breakout candidates, including Sonny Gray and Dan Otero. Specifically, I highlighted Josh Donaldson’s 2012 campaign in which he catapulted from third- or fourth-string catcher to starting third baseman. Then, in 2013, with much competition for second base, Eric Sogard came out victorious.

Let’s take another look.

Motivation played a large role in Donaldson and Sogard‘s cases. Each were “underdogs” if you will, fighting to be the hands-down starter.

So, for this article, well-known veterans who have been starters in the majors for years are thrown out. In fact, any guy whose spot is guaranteed next season doesn’t qualify, either. Lastly, any guy who it wouldn’t be surprising to see outhit or outpitch the rest is disqualified.

So, here’s who’s out: Coco Crisp, Yoenis Cespedes, Jed Lowrie, Josh Donaldson, Brandon Moss, Jarrod Parker, Scott Kazmir, Jim Johnson, Luke Gregerson, Sean Doolittle and Ryan Cook.

It wouldn’t surprise anyone to see the above men sit atop the stat sheets in spring training. It has to be someone who you don’t expect. For example, Sogard suddenly hit .444 last season in 26 games, the most of any Athletic.

So, the question is: who’s left?

Looking at who needs to make the jump and has the proper motivation to do so, here’s who looks ready to storm into spring training and raise your eyebrow.

Josh Reddick

Yes, he’s a starter. But would it surprise you to see Reddick hit over .400 in spring training?

Fans are down on the right fielder right now. After hitting .242 with 32 home runs and 85 RBI in 2012, Reddick slumped to .226 with 12 home runs and 56 RBI a season ago. To his credit, he dealt with a wrist injury that obviously hampered him.

But Reddick is healthy. He’s had successful wrist surgery and the chance to rest and recover.

And now he’s paid.

The A’s and Reddick avoided arbitration, settling on a one-year, $2.7 million deal for 2014. Health, putting arbitration behind him and wanting to rebound should be plenty of motivation to come into spring and blow things up.

Reddick has a history of doing well in spring. In 2012, he hit .304 in 15 games; he hit .294 in 20 games last year.

Having a huge March would solidify his role in right field as a permanent, 160-game starter and quiet his doubters. And that’s exactly what he’s ready to do, as he told John Hickey of the San Jose Mercury News: “…the wrist is fine, I feel healthy again and I’m ready to go out and try to be the player I was in 2012 and not 2013.”

Derek Norris

Norris is yet another “starter” who could see a breakout performance in 2014 spring training.

Here’s why it would be considered impressive: Norris is supposed to be the catcher of the future. But instead of letting him catch 130 games or so, the A’s continuously bring in other guys, such as John Jaso, Stephen Vogt and Kurt Suzuki for a second time. Now, Chris Gimenez has been added to the mix.

For Norris to make all three of those guys an afterthought and earn full-time duties—legit full-time duties, not 98 games full time—would be a breakout.

Here’s what happened last year: He hit .350 in 19 games, which included five home runs. He began the regular season hitting .283 in April, carrying over a great spring camp. But then he hit .164 and .160 in May and June, respectively.

Then, Norris started his breakout, via Jane Lee of MLB.com:

“One day, I told [hitting coach] Chili [Davis], ‘I’m going to do something that just feels different,'” Norris said. “So, I started a little leg kick thing, and before I knew it, I just felt more balanced and we went with it.”

He finished the season hitting .333 after the All-Star break.

If Norris heads into spring training with the new swing and continued success, there’s no doubt he can thrive in camp. And if that happens and he expands on last year’s .350 mark, he may finally be the hands-down, full-time catcher he’s been expected to be.

Nate Freiman

Donaldson forced the A’s to give him a shot at third base. Sogard earned the starting role at second base after a strong spring. What if 2014 saw Freiman solidify his worth on the diamond?

Consider his progression:

A (short): .294
A (full): .294
A (advanced): .288
Double-A: .298
MLB: .274

He makes a jump to the next level every year and responds.

But he faces steep competition in Brandon Moss. Let’s compare the two.

Both had averages near the mean in 2013, according to FanGraphs.com, but Freiman‘s ended 0.18 higher than Moss’. But Billy Beane is an on-base kind of guy, so that has to factor in. Both Freiman and Moss ended just about the same, with Moss’ 0.10 higher. Both men’s BABIP numbers are about the same, too (Moss .301; Freiman .306) .

Where they differ is in slugging percentage, walks and strikeouts.

Moss walks much more percentage-wise (9.9 percent to Freiman‘s 6.7 percent), while Freiman strikeouts much less (14.9 percent to Moss’ 27.7 percent). Moss has the advantage in slugging percentage straight up, though (.522 to .389).

Moss is 30 years old and only really has two quality years of production. So, if Freiman, three years his junior, can continue in an upward trend—starting with this year’s spring training—he could get the wheels turning on a decision regarding the near future of first base.

After all, one guy is making $4.1 million, and the other netted less than one million. If production is close, Moneyball says to take the cheaper guy.

Conclusion

There are plenty of candidates for breakout stars. Shane Peterson does well annually in spring training, is entering his prime and is out of options. It’s do-or-die time for Peterson. Tommy Milone needs a strong rebound this spring to find his way back into the starting rotation. Sogard may have to do it again now with competition from Nick Punto and Alberto Callaspo.

There’s a slew of guys fighting for the last spot in the rotation, including Drew Pomeranz, Josh Lindblom and Fernando Abad to name a few. Nothing motivates quite like fighting with a half a dozen others for one spot or putting an end to doubts whether you can be a long-term starter.

But the three guys listed above stand out above the rest.

Reddick needs this. He is clearly motivated to hush the doubters, prove he’s healthy and prove he’s worth the $3.2 million he requested in arbitration.

Norris came up so heavily touted that the A’s were quick to ditch Suzuki, who had called pitches for A’s hurlers for five-and-a-half seasons. That hasn’t panned out yet. Unless he wants to be considered a bust, he’ll need to break out soon.

Lastly, Freiman is in an upward trend already.

If he’s taken notes from Daric Barton’s career (or Brandon Allen, Kila Ka’aihue or Chris Carter), you don’t get too many chances to become and remain the starting first baseman for the Oakland Athletics. You can argue it’s now or never to force the team to consider him.

For how much this team appears to be set heading into spring training, a lot could change due to strong performances.

Who’s your breakout candidate? Hit me up in the comments below and let’s chat about it on Twitter.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

T-minus four days until Oakland A’s pitchers report for spring training. Five days after that, the rest of the squad officially opens camp in Phoenix, Arizona. Baseball is upon us.

The 2014 Oakland A’s will look familiar.

Four-fifths of the rotation is the same. There are no new faces in the starting lineup. The bullpen and bench saw the most turnover.

Spring training is always entertaining.

It’s a time when we as fans and writers see how well guys have rebounded from offseason surgeries and lingering injuries. Prospects have a chance to shine. Others hope to earn a spot on the 25-man roster. And there always seems to be that one guy who, even though we know him already, has a monster spring.

So who’s gone? Who’s new? Which prospects are worth watching? Who’s returning from injury?

We’ll take a look at all of these questions, as well as everything else—from the projected lineup to position battles; from the coaching staff to a complete offseason recap.

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