Are Tony Kemp's Days Numbered in Oakland?
The Oakland A's aren't expected to spend a ton of money this winter, but one could argue that they could spend some.
With Tony Kemp entering the final year of his contract, and his most expensive arbitration year, he is estimated to receive a whopping $3.9MM for the 2023 season. Kemp's case was always going to be a close one. He'd potentially be the most expensive player under contract, but he also brings years of experience and is seen as a leader in the clubhouse.
Kemp had a down season after his breakout in 2021, batting .235 with a .307 on-base, while his OPS dropped 159 points. That said, he did turn things around in the second half, and we saw a more '21-esque line of .278/.342/.768.
It looks like that second half resurgence may not have been enough.
Late last week the A's brought in Tyler Wade on a minor league deal, and on Thursday the A's claimed Yonny Hernandez off waivers from the Arizona Diamondbacks. Neither guy has had sustained success at the big league level, but both guys make a lot of contact, and can play all around the infield.
I wrote about Wade last week, so let's focus on Hernandez for now. He's 24 years old now and won't be 25 until May. He's also a switch-hitter that hit for a higher average against lefties, but his OBP and OPS were pretty similar from both sides of the plate.
He got a little time with Arizona this past season, getting into 12 games, but hit just .083 after going 2-for-24 with two walks and two stolen bases.
Hernandez's skills seem like they fit very well with what the A's are trying to do, which is acquire guys that don't strike out as much. He has never struck out 20% of the time at any minor league stop. This season in Reno he struck out just 15.9% of the time while walking 11.9%. The A's have to figure that if they can get him to make slightly better contact, he could turn into a pretty decent big leaguer.
In his small sample size in the big leagues (135 batted balls), his average exit velocity has been just 83 miles per hour, with the MLB average being 88.4. In 2022 he had 22 batted balls, so the sample size here is extremely small, but his launch angle was -12.5. In 2021 it was 4. A swing change could be in store for the young switch-hitter.
Defensively he has played short, second, and third in the big leagues and was right around average at each position, but his arm strength falls in the 24th percentile, so sticking to second could make the most sense.
So how do these two guys make it so that Tony Kemp is at risk of being non-tendered or traded? The A's have some intriguing outfielders like Cristian Pache, Conner Capel, Cal Stevenson, and Cody Thomas, plus more on the way that could get a look in 2023 in addition to veterans Seth Brown and Ramón Laureano. With those outfield options, Kemp would likely be moved to second base, but with these recent additions, it looks as though the A's could be searching for someone to claim second base this spring.
From the front office perspective, they likely figure that Kemp won't be around when the A's are competitive next, so may as well bring in some other options for those at-bats.
In addition to announcing the Yonny Hernandez move, the A's also announced that Nate Mondou, Austin Pruitt, Norge Ruiz, Sam Selman, and Colin Wiles had been outrighted to Las Vegas. With those moves, the A's roster currently stands at 40 players, including those currently on the injured list.
Stephen Vogt and Chad Pinder are both still listed on the 40-man roster, but with Vogt's retirement and Pinder set to hit free agency, the A's actually have 38 spots accounted for on their 40-man. November 15 is the deadline to protect Rule 5 eligible players from the Rule 5 Draft, and the A's currently have two open roster spots to utilize.
Mondou, Selman, and Pruitt are all eligible to elect free agency.