Rajai Davis versus Gabe Gross

On the third of July, I was watching the Oakland Athletics play the Cleveland Indians, in the second game of a three game series. After giving up a two run blast to Jason Nix in the first inning, new call up Clayton Mortensen was starting to settle in on the mound. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Matt Laporta pulled a single into the gap between third and shortstop. As you can see in this "highlight," Austin Kearns was barely half-way to third when Gabe Gross butchered a ball in left field to allow two runs to score. The two runs that Gross gave up were huge as the Athletics went on to lose 5-4. This play, coupled with his overall results at the plate (or lack there of), has given me a reason to start second-guessing manager Bob Geren’s decision to give the playing time in left field, while Conor Jackson is hurt, to Gabe Gross over Rajai Davis.

First off, I would love to know why Gabe Gross is getting the playing time of a guy who is capable of being an everyday outfielder. In all honesty, Gabe has not proved much since he left the Brewers back in 2008. Gabe had two "good" years in his career, where he produced 2.2 WAR (2006) and 2.3 WAR (2008). Normally you would think those are two solid/valuable years, and that every team could use a Major league average player. However, the situation is much different when Gross is placed on the Athletics’ roster.

Let me start this next paragraph by telling you that I am not trying to say "Gabe Gross is a terrible baseball player." The point I am trying to get across is that having Gabe Gross on the Oakland Athletics roster is completely redundant. Like most people, I thought that the Gabe Gross signing was brilliant. Signing a guy, who is only thirty years old and can play all three outfield positions well, for only $750,000 is a steal. Unfortunately, it is not that simple. Gabe’s value lies in his defense, he has a career +1.0 UZR in centerfield, +5.3 in leftfield, and +20.9 in right field. Very little value in his career has been created with his bat. He has a career .320 wOBA and a 95wRC+. That is not even half of the story with Gross; his last two years boast even worse numbers. In 2009 Gross posted a .306 wOBA, this year he has a (gasp!) .283 wOBA. A wRC+ of 74 on the season, basically means that Gross is 26 percent below league average at the plate.

Has Gabe’s career essentially been in decline since 2008, when he was only 28? There is not enough information to reach this conclusion, but that is irrelevant to the 2010 Oakland Athletics, because Rajai Davis is superior to Gabe Gross in every aspect of the game. It is hard to believe, but Rajai Davis has a higher wOBA than Gross on the season (.316). When Rajai gets on base, we all know what kind of speed he brings, and he uses that speed to go along with his above average base running skills. Rajai is extremely efficient when he is on the base paths, with a speed score of 7.7, he is not just a guy who racks up a bunch of stolen bases and also gets thrown out multiple times (ahem…Juan Pierre ). His plus-plus speed also translates into his defensive component to help make up for any possible poor routes.

All of these numbers can not answer the question of why Rajai Davis is not starting in leftfield over Gross. The reason for this is simply perception. Since Rajai Davis runs extremely fast, steals a lot of bases, and plays great defense, he is viewed as a fourth outfielder. On a team with a better lineup, that is probably true, but the Athletics need to squeeze every run they can out of the talent they have on the roster. Right now, Davis is worth more to the A’s than Gross is. There is no way a front office is going to turn every free agent signing they make into a bargain, some will always disappoint, even with a proven track record like Gross had. What separates the elite General Managers from the incompetent ones is the ability to cut bate and admit they made a mistake, in order to move the franchise forward. This is what Billy Beane needs to do. He took a flier on Gross and he failed. There is nothing wrong with taking that gamble, but he must release or trade Gross and give the majority of the playing time in leftfield to Rajai Davis, at least until a better option comes along.