Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
The Oakland Athletics’ rookie shortstop Marcus Semien has been struggling defensively this year. He has committed 19 errors so far this season and his fielding percentage at short is currently .916. The Athletics even brought in infield specialist Ron Washington to try and help Semien with his defense. But even during Wednesday’s game, Semien made a simple fielding error that cost the A’s an out. Additionally, even though Semien has had a pretty hot bat this year, he is in a minor slump and is batting just .167 in his last 13 games.
Perhaps Semien just is not ready for the major leagues yet. If Washington does not dramatically help Semien improve his defense soon, it is time for Oakland to start looking for a new shortstop. Thankfully, the A’s have many highly desired players who could be used as trading pawns in order to acquire a shortstop with better defensive skills.
First of all, there has been a lot of interested in ace Scott Kazmir. Perhaps the A’s can use Kazmir in a trade to acquire a more well-rounded shortstop. One team that desperately needs another strong starting pitcher is the Boston Red Sox. Unfortunately for the Athletics, the Red Sox do not have any veteran shortstops — just Xander Bogaerts, who is only 22 years old, and Brock Holt, who is Boston’s backup utility player for basically any position on the field. Oh wait, the Athletics love utility players!
Holt has played at every position besides catcher and pitcher so far this year. The Athletics would not trade Kazmir just for Holt, but perhaps they could also get some top prospects or an outfielder with a strong bat. The A’s and Red Sox made a monster trade last year before the July 31 deadline, so it’s possible it could happen again this season.
Another team that would possible be interested in Kazmir is the Los Angeles Dodgers. Right now, the Dodgers are first the in the NL West standings. If they want to make it to the postseason this year, they are going to need to boost their starting rotation. The A’s could offer L.A. Kazmir in exchange for top infield prospect Corey Seager or veteran shortstop Jimmy Rollins, who will soon be bumped once Seager is brought up from Triple-A.
It is also widely known that the Chicago Cubs are interested in Ben Zobrist and they also need pitching. It is doubtful that the A’s could give the Cubs both Zobrist and Kazmir, but they could get some good players in return for either one of these All-Stars. There have been rumors swirling that the Cubs are looking to trade shortstop Starlin Castro. Or perhaps there could even be reunion between the A’s and Addison Russell.
If the Athletics are not in postseason contention by the time July rolls around, Oakland is going to be looking to sell some of their big-name players who will be free agents at the end of the 2015 season. The A’s should take this opportunity to acquire a new shortstop. Maybe it does not have to be a starter, but it should be someone who is strong defensively and can at least platoon with Semien in order to cut down on the errors he has been making that have been costing the Athletics some big outs.
Samantha Riley is an Oakland Athletics writer for www.RantSports.com. You can follow her on twitter @Riless22.
