Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
So far, this season has had a lot of ups and downs for the Oakland Athletics. However, there has been one player who has been consistent at the plate and provided stellar defense in the field. This would middle infielder Eric Sogard.
In the past couple of seasons, Sogard has been known more as a hinderance than a help mostly because he lacked serious bat power and could not produce offensively on a consistent basis. The last four seasons, he has had a combined .214 batting average with a total of only seven home runs. Even though he has provided great defense at second base, his bat was just not up to par with the rest of the team.
However, this year has been different. While the A’s floundered first defensively and then offensively during the first two months of the season, Sogard has been able to shine and show that he is a valuable asset to the team. Additionally, he has been able to successfully step into the everyday second baseman role while Ben Zobrist has been on the disabled list.
This year, Sogard has been consistent at the plate and is batting .262 with 10 RBI. Sogard has also had more decent at-bats against left-handers this year including two hits and one RBI on Saturday against Tampa Bay Rays’ lefties Xavier Cedeno and Enny Romero, which ultimately ended Oakland’s 0-for-18 steak with runners in scoring position. Sogard is always trying his best to help the team even if it just means hitting a blooper into the gap in center field.
Lastly, his defense has also been rock solid even though he is working with an entirely different group of players in the infield this year. He may be on the team that has committed the most errors in the major leagues, but Sogard has maintained a strong arm, great range and has made some amazing plays at second. Once Marcus Semien improves his defensive skills at shortstop, the middle infield will be nearly impenetrable.
It will be interesting to see what role Sogard will play now that Zobrist has returned from the disabled list. It is likely that Sogard will be in the lineup less and will probably be matched up exclusively against right handed pitchers even though he has been batting fairly well against lefties lately. Hopefully Sogard will not get lost in the shuffle since he has provided the team with valuable defense and a consistent bat during April and May.
Samantha Riley is an Oakland Athletics writer for www.RantSports.com. You can follow her on twitter @Riless22.
