Jack Cust / Landon Powell

OrlandoAsFan — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 17:33:00 -0000

This is my first attempt at a fanpost, so hopefull I won't completely screw it up. I've been thinking about these two guys alot lately (not in that way). It seems like the A's could take a couple different routes concerning the future of the team in regards to first base, catcher and the DH positions. Please take a look at my thoughts below. Any feedback/tweaking is welcome.

I feel that it's pretty evident that M. Sweeney is not going to be in the future plans for the A's. I can't help but feel that his signing is to serve as a buffer to allow the younger guys to gain more experience, with the potential bonus being a chance to flip him at the trade deadline for more prospects. Therefore, i'm not going to include him at length in this post.

It appears that Jack Cust's value is probably as high right now as it will ever be. So, why not trade him to a contending team for some prospects? We have two guys in the minor leagues at this moment that have a great shot at becoming capable designated hitters. These two guys are Landon Powell and Chris Carter. I'm not going to claim to know much about Carter, but with Barton manning first base for the foreseeable future, he seems to profile better as a dh. Moving on to Landon Powell. This guy is a great hitter, but has already been through two surgeries on his knee. Most people would argue that he profiles to be a better defensive catcher than Kurt Suzuki. This point may be true, but i'm still very concerned about his health issues. From the outside looking in, it seems that he could have a much longer and more productive career as a dh.

So basically what I'm proposing is:

1. Trade Cust for prospects.

2. Leave Suzuki behind the plate.

3. Leave Barton at fist.

4. Allow either Carter or Powell to dh.

Realistically, if the rest of the team is learning how to play in the majors, why not allow the same thing to happen at the dh position?

Thoughts?

SB Nation User Blog: OrlandoAsFan

Jack Cust / Landon Powell