Alonso thrilled with trade to A's, chance to play at Coliseum - really
O.co Coliseum in Oakland has a reputation for being detrimental to hitters' success. Deep flyballs routinely die at the warning track in the cool night air, causing stat lines to shrink as the temperature drops. On Wednesday, however, the Oakland Athletics picked up a player who couldn't be happier about heading to the cavernous confines of the Coliseum. First baseman Yonder Alonso and reliever Marc Rzepczynski came over from the San Diego Padres in exchange for lefty Drew Pomeranz and minor-league reliever Jose Torres.
It was the latest move pulled off by GM David Forst and VP of Baseball Operations Billy Beane in what's been a busy few weeks.
Now, I am looking forward to starting a new chapter with the @athletics & breaking out the white spikes! Let's go!
— Yonder Alonso (@YonderalonsoU) December 2, 2015
Alonso, 28, is coming off a season in San Diego that saw him hit .282/.361/.381 with five home runs, 18 doubles and a WAR of 1.8. He's a non power-hitting first baseman, which is somewhat of a rarity in MLB. What he may lack in power, though, he seems to make up for in his ability to make contact: he only struck out 48 times in 354 official at-bats in 2015. In the longest season of his career, 2012, he appeared in 155 games and struck out just 101 times in 549 at-bats in that campaign.
Forst praised Alonso's skills on defense as being a major plus in his game as well, telling Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that, "he’s a very productive player despite the lack of home runs." He does hit some every now and then, however.
New A's bench coach Mark Kotsay (Alonso's hitting coach in San Diego last season) raved about the pickup, as quoted by Slusser on Twitter:
The aspect of this deal that is especially interesting is the enthusiasm with which Alonso seems to have taken the news. Judging by all of his quotes, he's absolutely thrilled with being able to suit up for the Green and Gold...something he did as a kid under the tutelage of a former A's star:
Yonder Alonso is delighted to be joining #Athletics, says not everyone likes the Coliseum but he loves it.
— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) December 2, 2015
As Slusser relayed, Alonso was affected by his first visit to O.co Coliseum as an opposing player:
Alonso is used to another big pitchers’ park in San Diego, and he’s not a big home-run hitter anyway, so he’s also on board with the Coliseum. “When I first played there, walking in there was surreal - all the tradition,” said Alonso, who counted Miguel Tejada and Eric Chavez among his favorite players when he was young. “Maybe some players wouldn’t enjoy it, but I love it.”
What's more, he and his fiancee (a Northern California native) are also expecting a child anytime now.
A's infielder Danny Valencia is an old friend of Alonso, as the two spent time together with the University of Miami baseball team:
Really happy to have another @CanesBaseball alum on the squad!!! Welcome @yonderalonsou to the @Athletics #TurnUp
— Danny Valencia (@dannyvalencia19) December 2, 2015
By adding Alonso, Oakland's infield situation is a bit clearer - though they're still 'likely' to deal Brett Lawrie in the wake of the recent deal that brought Jed Lowrie back to town.
Beyond his defensive skills and high contact rate, Alonso isn't eligible to be a free agent until 2018 and is cost-controlled...making him a valued commodity for an organization such as Oakland.
As for Rzepczynski, or 'Scrabble' as he is appropriately nicknamed, he'll presumably join Sean Doolittle (who is rather excited about the new "Star Wars" movie, by the way) and Fernando Abad from the left side of the A's bullpen barring any additional moves in that regard.
