A’s to add right-handed power-hitter Aguilar
The Oakland Athletics have agreed to a free-agent deal with first baseman Jesús Aguilar, a source told The Chronicle on Tuesday, a move with potential to add some punch to their lineup.
Aguilar, 32, is five years removed from a 35-homer season in 2018 with Milwaukee and will be seeking to rebound from a dip in production in 2022. His deal is pending a physical; the A's have not confirmed it, and financial terms were not disclosed.
An All-Star in 2018, when he posted an .890 OPS and 108 RBIs, Aguilar has been unable to match those numbers or his home run total in any season since then. Traded to and subsequently waived by the Rays in 2019, Aguilar was picked up by the Marlins and hit 22 homers with 93 RBIs for them in 2021. He regressed again last season, totaling 16 homers and 51 RBIs across 129 games for the Marlins (who released him in August) and Orioles.
His strikeout rate of 23.5% last year was his highest in five seasons and his 5.5% walk rate was a career low, and Statcast measured his average exit velocity, hard-hit and barrel rates as career worsts over a full season. Aguilar owns a career .254/.324/ .449 line in MLB but slashed .235/.281/.379 in 2022.
The A's need a source of righthanded power. Among hitters from the right side of the plate still on their 40-man roster, Ramón Laureano hit the most MLB home runs in 2022 with 13. If Aguilar can regain his prior form, he could be an option at first base or designated hitter for an A's offense that ranked next to last in runs scored in 2022.
Other first-base options on Oakland's 40-man roster are left-handed hitters Seth Brown and Ryan Noda (a Rule 5 draft pick) and right-handed hitter Dermis Garcia. Aguilar, a righthanded hitter, owns close to even platoon splits in his career. Staff news: The A's announced their 2023 player-development staff with a few changes.
Craig Conklin will manage the High-A Lansing affiliate, replacing Phil Pohl, who left for a role at Clemson; Conklin was Lansing's assistant hitting coach in 2022. Former A's infielder Gregorio Petit becomes Single-A Stockton's manager after managing the Astros' Double-A affiliate last year. Fran Riordan and Bobby Crosby return as managers at Triple-A Las Vegas and Double-A Midland, respectively.
Dan Hubbs, a longtime coach at USC and Cal, joins the A's as pitching-development coach, and Craig Lefferts becomes minor-league assistant pitching coordinator under coordinator Gil Patterson. Rick Rodriguez replaces Lefferts as minor-league pitching-rehab coordinator.
Veronica Alvarez is now the A's coordinator of player development in Latin America. Alvarez has been a spring training coach with the A's since 2019 and made history when she served as Lansing's acting manager for a week in 2022.