Who's the Odd Man Out When Seth Brown Returns?

Seth Brown could be set to return to the A's lineup in mere days

Despite the Oakland Athletics boasting a 10-37 record, the team's offense ranks 18th in wRC+ with a just below average 97. That's ahead of Seattle, San Diego, and Houston, and just behind Philadelphia. That offensive group is about to get a boost when Seth Brown returns to the lineup. 

Ahead of Saturday's game, Stockton Ports broadcaster Alex Jensen tweeted out a link to listen to the game, but also said this would be Brown's last rehab appearance in Stockton. The goal for Brown all along has been to get through one full game in the field before he returned to the A's lineup, and on Saturday he played nine innings in right field. 

Of course, he could be making the trek to join the Las Vegas Aviators before their next series beginning on Tuesday. That series just so happens to be on the road in Tacoma, while the A's will be in nearby Seattle. If the A's wanted to go that route, they could, but it's more likely that Seth will just join the big league squad early next week. 

With that being the case, who is he going to replace? He can play all three outfield spots, but is best in left field, and also spent a good amount of time at first base in 2022, but the A's are kind of stacked offensively at all four of those spots.

Brent Rooker was one of the last additions to the Opening Day roster, and now he is the third-best hitter in all of baseball behind just Yandy Diaz and Ronald Acuña Jr. with a 173 wRC+. He's tied for 10th in home runs, 17th in RBI, 15th in walk rate, and 18th in fWAR. He's not going anywhere, and will likely be getting most of his at-bats from the DH spot once Brown returns. 

Esteury Ruiz has a 110 wRC+ (10% above league average) in his first full season, leads baseball in steals with 23, and is batting .329 in the month of May. He is tied for 3rd in fWAR among all rookies with 1.1 wins above replacement. The two players above him are James Outman of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Corbin Carroll of the Arizona Diamondbacks, leaving Ruiz atop the American League. 

He also isn't going anywhere. 

Ramón Laureano is batting just .211 with a .254 on-base, but he's also been dinged up a little bit since that series in Tampa Bay. He still has a 94 wRC+ (6% below league average) and has been playing above average defense in right field. As one of the veteran leaders on this club, he's pretty much guaranteed a spot on the roster.

The most likely option to get sent down would be JJ Bleday, who is in the midst of a 1-for-21 slump, and is also a left-handed bat, like Brown. Even with the slump, he still has a 125 wRC+, and he showed what he can do with the glove on Friday night in Houston. 

JJ B̶l̶e̶d̶a̶y̶ Whataplay 👀 pic.twitter.com/YTtnwY2svA

— Oakland A's (@Athletics) May 20, 2023

His saving grace could be that he is going to be a part of this team long-term, and getting him reps at the big-league level now could be beneficial for his development. We already know he can hit Triple-A pitching after he batted .316 with a .429 OBP and seven homers in 25 games with the Aviators. 

One strike against him is that he's a lefty, and in terms of roster construction, Mark Kotsay and the front office may not want to mess with the number of righties and lefties the team has.

I also mentioned that Brownie can play first base, and while that isn't necessarily the plan for him this season--especially wit the emergence of Ryan Noda--it's certainly an option. 

Speaking of Noda, he's tied with Ruiz in fWAR among rookies, which means he's also leading the AL. On top of that, his 141 wRC+ ranks 25th in all of baseball, and isn't too far behind the guy that was ahead of him on the L.A. depth chart, Freddie Freeman's 150. Shohei Ohtani is just 1% better. That is how good Ryan Noda has been through the first month and a half of his big-league career. He also has a .399 OBP, which is tied for 11th in all of baseball with Sean Murphy. 

Noda has been a pretty good addition to the roster, and he's not going anywhere.

The only option aside from Bleday that could be on the chopping block could be part-time first baseman Jesús Aguilar. The 32-year-old veteran has a 94 wRC+ overall, but he's absolutely crushing left-handers, posting a 179 wRC+ while batting .317 with a .408 on-base and a 1.018 OPS. 

The A's don't necessarily need an effective platoon bat as they continue to rebuild this season, and those splits will certainly make Aguilar a coveted trade piece sooner rather than later. The question is, will the A's flip him to a team with playoff aspirations in the coming days, or is that inevitable move still a month or two away?