Oakland Athletics Bring Back Another, Sign Adam Rosales

After reuniting with a pair of former A’s this offseason, the Oakland Athletics bring back another by signing Adam Rosales.

The Oakland Athletics continue to fill out their big league roster, and are doing so by bringing back a few former A’s. On Wednesday, they agreed to a major league deal with utility infielder Adam Rosales on a one-year contract worth $1.25 million. To get him on the 40-man roster, the A’s designated left-handed pitcher Dillon Overton for assignment.

Rosales has bounced around the league quite a bit during his nine-year big league career. He debuted in 2008 with the Cincinnati Reds and played two seasons there before being traded, along with outfielder Willy Taveras, to the A’s during the 2009-2010 offseason.

He spent parts of the next four seasons with the A’s, hitting .223/.285/.345 with 15 home runs in 197 games. On July 31st, 2013, Rosales was designated for assignment by Oakland after the A’s acquired Alberto Callaspo. That began an incredibly bizarre journey for Rosales.

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After being designated on the final day of July, Rosales was claimed by the Texas Rangers on August 2nd. He didn’t appear in a game for Texas, and was designated again on August 5th. He was again claimed, this time by the Athletics, and played one game for the club before being designated, yet again, on August 10th. He was claimed by the Texas Rangers for the second time in 10 days on August 12th.

Rosales finished the 2013 season with Texas, and stayed in the Lone Star State for the 2014 and 2015 seasons. He was released before the end of the 2015 season, but went unsigned until January 1st, 2016, when he agreed to a minor league pact with the San Diego Padres.

The infielder made the Padres’ opening day roster, and would contribute to the team that finished last in the NL West. Rosales played a career-high 105 games, and also set career highs with 12 doubles, three triples, 13 home runs, 35 runs batted in, and a .495 slugging percentage. Still, he hit just .229 overall and was far from an offensive juggernaut for the team.

Now in his third stint with the A’s, Rosales will likely fill in all over the diamond from time to time, especially against left-handed pitchers. He was slightly better against southpaws in 2016 (.237/.348/.495), and can give the team some innings at almost every position. He has played at least 500 innings at every infield position, and also has limited experience in the outfield. Rosales has over 50 innings in left field, and an inning in right field. He even pitched two games for the Rangers in 2015, throwing an inning each time.

Rosales is the third former Athletic to be brought back this offseason, joining right-handed reliever Santiago Casilla and outfielder Rajai Davis. Casilla was signed by the A’s as an international free agent (then known as Jairo Garcia) in 2000, and pitched with the big league team from 2004 to 2009. Casilla has spent his entire major league career in the Bay Area, having pitched for the San Francisco Giants from 2010 to 2016.

Davis also has a journeyman’s track record, having played for six different big league clubs in his 11-year career. He previously played for Oakland from 2008 to 2010, hitting .287/.329/.392 with 60 doubles, 12 triples, and 116 stolen bases in 369 games. He played with the Cleveland Indians in 2016, and the 35-year-old led the American League with 43 steals. Davis also spent time in San Francisco, in 2007 and 2008.

Next: Casilla Switching Sides in the Bay...Again

The A’s have also signed veteran third baseman Trevor Plouffe, a long-time Minnesota Twin, and outfielder Matt Joyce, a Pittsburgh Pirate in 2016, to big league deals.

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