Expect the A’s to be more active shopping for outfielders than any other position as Major League Baseball’s free agency period gets underway.
Oakland is without an everyday answer in both center field and right field, with center being a particular area of need following the trades of Billy Burns and Coco Crisp in the second half of 2016.
“There’s no question center field, short and long term, is a concern,” A’s executive VP of baseball operations Billy Beane said at season’s end.
The only returning outfielder who’s guaranteed a starting spot is left fielder Khris Davis, whose 42-homer season was the A’s biggest bright spot in an otherwise very disappointing 2016.