An incredibly logical fit comes to fruition
The A’s have apparently found their third baseman. Per reporting from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the club has agreed to terms on a contract with Gio Urshela for the coming 2025 season:
Gio Urshela and the Athletics are in agreement on a contract, per @Ken_Rosenthal pic.twitter.com/5v7xunhJ7t
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) December 20, 2024
Our very own Nico wrote a piece very recently outlining how perfect of a fit Urshela would be on this roster. The whole piece is worth a read and gives you an idea of how the newest Athletic will fit into the roster. Spoiler: perfectly.
All of the third basemen since Matt Chapman’s departure have been a disappointment to say the least. There has been a long list of either young, unproven, or over the hill players that the club has tried out but none have come close to even league average production. The A’s have had the worst production out of the hot corner for the past couple of years so even passable at the position would be a major upgrade. That’s just what Urshela is: a league-average third baseman.
The 33-year-old Urshela has been around for a while, playing parts of 9 seasons over the past 10 years. While he started his career in Cleveland and then Toronto, Urshela first found major league success in 2019, his first year with the New York Yankees. He burst onto the scene slashing .314/.355/.534 with 21 home runs, looking like a late-bloomer that the Bronx bombers had hit on. Urshela never quite hit those heights again, having two more solid years in Pinstripes before spending a year with the Twins and Angels each. Last year he began the season with Detroit before finding himself in Atlanta by the end of the season. He found a power surge with the Braves as he hit nine doubles and four home runs in just 36 games.
Urshela is almost certainly the Opening Day starter at third base barring injury. He’s a career .273 hitter but had a .291 batting average from 2019 to 2023. He has some pop in his bat but not the prototypical power you’d expect from a third baseman. And his defense? You guessed it: league average. Again, if you want a more in-depth look into Urshela I highly recommend the link above. This move doesn’t seem like such a splash at first glance but adding Urshela might help the team more than anything else they do this offseason. Welcome aboard Gio!
