OAKLAND – Mookie Betts has quickly become one of the best outfielders in all of baseball, so it's easy to forget he actually began his career as a second baseman.
That's the path A's prospect Franklin Barreto is looking to follow. Barreto came up as a middle infielder, but Oakland moved him to the outfield this spring, hoping to get him more playing time.
The 23-year-old previously played some outfield in the Venezuelan Winter League in 2015 but had only played second base and shortstop with the A's. Similarly, Betts played a little outfield in high school but came up as a middle infielder in the Red Sox organization.