The Reason Andy Ibáñez Could Have a Solid Season with the A's
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Earlier this week, the Athletics claimed Andy Ibáñez off waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers, and he figures to be firmly in the third base mix for the green and gold in 2026. He'll provide veteran experience to a club that doesn't have a ton of it, and he'll bring some stability to arguably the only position on the diamond that isn't settled for the A's.
That said, he's still a career .254 hitter with a .305 OBP and a 92 wRC+, so he's not the biggest addition. Still, he's a solid find for the A's this late in the offseason, and will provide an upgrade over the 75 wRC+ that the club held at the hot corner last season. In addition, he brings a solid glove, putting up +4 DRS and +2 OAA last year at third in just 323 1/3 innings with Detroit.
Over at FanGraphs, they have him projected for the second-most playing time at third behind Max Muncy. The former first rounder is penciled in for 294 plate appearances, or roughly half a season's worth, while Ibáñez is at 175, followed by Brett Harris (126) and Darell Hernaiz (70).
In looking at his advanced stats, there is one specific reason to be fairly optimistic when it comes to Ibáñez in 2026, and it's not simply him going from a league average hitter's park into a more hitter-friendly situation in Sacramento—though that will help.
Watch out for Ibáñez?
Back in 2023 with the Detroit Tigers, Ibáñez had his best season in the big leagues, batting .264 with a .312 on-base, posted a 103 wRC+, and was valued at 1.6 fWAR. If the A's received that type of season from him in 2026, they'd likely be thrilled. There is also reason to believe that he could end up repeating those numbers this season.
First, let's take a look at some advanced numbers.
xBA | Exit Velo | Launch Angle | Barrel% | K% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2023 | .266 | 89.1 | 12.9 | 9.0 | 18 |
2024 | .214 | 88.1 | 20.3 | 4.9 | 25.8 |
2025 | .254 | 88.9 | 12.6 | 4.6 | 13.5 |
What we're focusing on here is the changes between the 2023 and 2024 seasons, and how some of those regressions snapped back in 2025. His expected batting average was back to respectable, his exit velocity was close to on par, his launch angle was more of a line drive than a fly ball, and his strikeout rate was almost the lowest of his career.
Those are all numbers that are trending in the right direction entering 2026. But if he had similar advanced numbers to 2023 last year, why didn't he have the same type of season in 2025? Well, he also posted a .259 BABIP, well below league average, and well below where he usually sits, which is around .290.
So the simple answer here is that if he is able to get his swing in order and make contact similar to how he was last year, then with a little bit of regression to the mean he should be an improved player without having to do much of anything other than keep going.
In 2024 he actually finished with a higher wRC+ (86 to 84) thanks to a BABIP that was 51 points higher than it was last season, despite the worse metrics. The underlying stats seem to think that Ibáñez could be due for some extra hits this season, and that could be why the Dodgers went out and signed him earlier this winter, before placing him on waivers for the A's to scoop up.
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Jason has been covering the A’s at various sites for over a decade, and was the original host of the Locked on A’s podcast. He also covers the Stanford Cardinal as they attempt to rebuild numerous programs to prominence.
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