A's Infielder Brett Harris Getting Looks At Second Base
In the A's first home Spring Training game at Hohokam, the A's trotted out a lineup that featured Brett Harris at second base, and new A's infielder Gio Urshela at third base. Last season, the A's had Harris playing all of his big league time at third base.
With Gio Urshela manning third base to open up the season, and Max Muncy likely the third baseman of the future, Harris' time at the hot corner could be coming to an end. Usually, when players get moved off third base, it's because they defensively cannot play it at a high level. However, Harris proved last season that he had a good glove at third base--it's his hitting that needs to improve.
Last season, Brett Harris' struggles at the plate were apparent. In 123 plate appearances for the green and gold, Harris had a .146 average and a .538 OPS with three long balls. Because of his inability to become a consistent hitter with the club last season, they sent him down to Triple-A Las Vegas.
The second base position could look like more of a competition by the day. As Jason Burke discussed here at A's on SI, this could be a prove-it year for second baseman Zack Gelof. Although he was one of the team's best hitters just two years ago, he's coming off a rough 2024 campaign.
Whiffs and strikeouts were a huge problem for Gelof last season, and in his first Cactus League game, it didn't look like his whiff issue was fixed just yet. He struck out twice in three at-bats, with a handful of whiffs in all of them. In fairness, one spring game doesn't mean that he won't be back to mashing in 2025, it's just not how he would have liked to start.
As for the reason Harris is making the move to second, it seems like after Urshela holds down third for most of this year at least, A's prospect Max Muncy will likely take over sooner rather than later. Just a few years ago, the club selected Muncy in the first round, and It took Muncy a few seasons to really get hitting in the A's system, but now it looks like he settled in well.
In 173 at-bats with the A's Triple-A affiliate, the Las Vegas Aviators, Muncy posted a .277 average with a .865 OPS and eight home runs. Considering Muncy struggled to hit in the lower levels of the minors, that stat line is really impressive in the highest level of the minor leagues.
Since Jacob Wilson will likely be the primary shortstop for the A's, Muncy has been getting some time at third base in the minor leagues, in hopes of one day being the everyday third baseman.
The second base position still has some question marks--especially because it's unknown what Gelof's future holds. With Brett Harris getting looks at second base, if he could improve his bat, he could sure have some competition for the spot over the course of the season.
I grew up playing baseball, and also enjoyed watching and writing about my favorite team, the A’s. Being a diehard A’s fan from New Jersey is certainly not common, but I love the team and all of the current and former players so much. I currently attend school at Penn State Scranton where I get the opportunity to play college baseball.