Oakland Athletics: Chad Pinder deserves to be an everyday player

With multiple members of the Oakland Athletics lineup continuing to struggle, it’s time to give utility man Chad Pinder an opportunity to be an everyday player.

Just as the baseball gods giveth, they taketh away. The Oakland Athletics were sitting pretty riding a 10-game winning streak and looked like one of the hottest teams in all of baseball.

Less than a week later, they are losers of their last four games and have fallen back to the dreaded .500 mark on the season.

There is certainly plenty of blame to go around and it’s not as if there’s one core reason that the A’s have suddenly stumbled upon this cold spell. The team simply isn’t winning, and that can’t necessarily be put on one player.

More specifically, in this case, it can’t be put on the lack of one player. But that doesn’t mean it can’t help.

The A’s resident swiss army knife, Chad Pinder, has been criminally underutilized so far this season all the while members of the Athletics lineup have continued to struggle both offensively and defensively. In the meantime, Pinder has remained squarely on the bench, instead spelling members of the team who need a day off.

In fact, Pinder has amassed just two at-bats in the past week, his most recent only coming as a result of shortstop Marcus Semien‘s ejection Saturday night. Now, it’s not as if Pinder has been playing like a perennial All-Star every time he’s taken the field.

That said, he’s currently slashing a respectable .267/.303/.444 while his 0.6 WAR his higher than the likes of Eric Hosmer and Jose Ramirez and equal to Jose Abreu. Moreover, his .764 OPS ranks fourth on the team out of players with at least 45 games played

Again, nothing worthy of MVP consideration, but certainly numbers worthy of a starting-caliber player. That notion is even further driven home when he’s compared to some of the other players who are currently starting over him — namely two individuals.

That being Robbie Grossman and Jurickson Profar. First, let’s start with Grossman.

The 29-year-old Grossman was signed to a one-year deal back in February after spending the last three years of his career in a semi-starting role with the Minnesota Twins. Grossman was expected to bring added veteran depth to a relatively young Athletics outfield but it’s clear that he’s overstayed his welcome at this point.

The former Houston Astros prospect is hitting just .217 through 48 games and has a WAR half that of Pinder’s. Not to mention that his struggles in the field have been well-documented aside from his difficulties at the dish.

It’s unclear why manager Bob Melvin continues to play Grossman as the everyday starting left fielder given his struggles, but the team could certainly benefit from playing Pinder there more often instead.

More from Oakland Athletics

• Oakland Athletics win Game 2 of Wild Card round with late-inning drama
• Oakland Athletics end perfect game, still lose Game 1 of Wild Card round
• Oakland Athletics: Jesus Luzardo will start Game 1 of Wild Card round
• Oakland Athletics clinch first AL West title since 2013
• Oakland Athletics: Can Jamb Lamb save the restructured infield?

If not, the team could even recall someone like Nick Martini from Triple-A Las Vegas. Martini impressed in limited playing time last season and is currently tearing it up in the Pacific Coast League.

But we’re here to talk about Chad Pinder, and if Martini were to take Grossman’s spot in left field, where would that leave our man of the hour?

Replacing the aforementioned Profar at second base might even be a more appealing option for Pinder. The A’s had high hopes for Profar after acquiring him in a late-December trade with the Texas Rangers. Unfortunately, he hasn’t exactly lived up to those expectations.

More from Golden Gate Sports

• Raiders: Rookie stock report following Week 3 performance
• 49ers sign new long snapper amidst a flurry of roster moves
• Oakland Athletics win Game 2 of Wild Card round with late-inning drama
• 49ers: George Kittle and Deebo Samuel cleared to return to practice
• 49ers expected to place DE Dee Ford on injured reserve

Not by a long shot.

At the time of writing, Profar is hitting just .192 on the season and his -0.8 WAR is one of the worst out of all starting position players in the MLB. Profar has struggled just as much defensively as he has at the plate committing a total of eight errors thus far. As a result, his .964 fielding percentage is by far the worst among all qualified second basemen in the league.

Pinder could step in and immediately be an instant improvement over Profar starting every day. Profar could take a seat on the bench and serve as the team’s primary reserve infield option while Pinder could shift into an everyday role and boost both the team’s offense and defense.

Is it too soon to give up on Profar? Perhaps it is.

But the A’s can’t just remain complacent while Grossman and Profar continue to struggle both offensively and defensively — especially when they have a perfectly suitable alternative underutilized on the bench.

Chad Pinder deserves the opportunity to prove himself in 2019 — he deserves the opportunity to be an everyday player.